"One Shouldn't Let Go The Opportunity", Says "Typewriter" Web Series Star Purab Kohli

The most awaited web series of Netflix's Typewriter has grabbed all the headlines of the news. The series is directed by Sujoy Ghosh, starring Purab Kohli, Palomi Ghosh and Sameer Kochhar in the lead roles, the series is set in Goa and revolves around a haunted house and a book that captures the imagination of a group of wannabe ghost hunters.

Actor Purab Kohli has already impressed the audience with his spectacular performance in Bollywood films like My Brother Nikhil, Vaastu Shasta, Rock On, Aawarapan, Airlift, Noor, etc. Purab feels that waiting for the right opportunity is worth the risk.

"Acting is a profession where one always struggles to get challenging roles", says Purab Kohli, who is playing one of the important characters in the series Typewriter.

“You are always trying to fight it out. Once in a while, you get an opportunity like Rock On! and then people can try you as a lead. But if one or two (of these films) don’t work, then you are back to where it is or was,” Purab told PTI in an interview.

The actor, 40, says someone who has optimized all his chances in recent times is Vicky Kaushal, who started with smaller roles before starring in big projects. "That helps you prove yourself as an actor. Every performance that you have, you have to do better. That is what your profession expects from you,” he said.

“Unfortunately or fortunately, you are governed by the work you have done in your career. But in Bollywood, distribution is selective. It is about what they can market. It is defined by what they can get people to keep buzzing. It is all about luring the audience first.”

There are a lot of offers with the boom in OTT platforms but for Purab doing quality work is more important.

“In India, there are so many OTT platforms that just popped up, from big to small ones. Work is abundant. Everybody is busy and working. There is a lot of quantity and quality being filtered at the moment with big directors entering the web. It is about quality for me.”

His role of a police officer in Typewriter, written and directed by Sujoy Ghosh, was finalized a week before the shooting began, Purab said.

“I auditioned for it, got selected. In a short period, things got finalized. After years of experience and trying and testing with different roles, what I look for now is who is making the show or film. I know Sujoy’s work and I wanted to work with him. So there is a medal that this project already has. I trust him.”

Purab Kohli recently appeared as Angad Shergil in the Voot web series It's Not That Simple (2018), with other featured casts Swara Bhaskar, Sumeet Vyas, Vivan Bhatena, Manasi Rachh, Neha Chauhan, Karan Veer Mehra, Devika Vatsa, Rohan Shah, Jia Vaidya.

Typewriter revolves around a group of nine-year-old children in Goa, who are on a mission to capture ghosts. The trailer opens to a police officer (Purab Kohli) noting about a new death in the town, which does not seem natural. The clip concludes with Kohli's character investigating multiple unnatural deaths tied together by a common thread: an old typewriter and a mysterious woman, played by Ghosh.

Talking about horror as a genre, Purab said, “Horror is the real hero. Indian films tend to make horror element grand. But the show is not like that, it has a beautiful story and characters. Horror is just a bonus.”

“There is no denial of the fact that although there are so many great filmmakers and writers in the country, Bengalis are known for their art, culture, and storytelling. Although I have not watched a lot of Bengali films, I have many Bengali friends. All of them are very artistic. Their storytelling fascinates me,” Purab told IANS.

"I have always enjoyed Onir’s writing, and Sujoy’s work has always fascinated me. So whenever I collaborate with them, magic happens,” added the actor.

Typewriter premieres on Netflix this Friday.