Mahir Pandhi on similarities between Animal's Ranbir Kapoor, DJ from Vanshaj: 'It's a reminder that...' | Exclusive

Mahir Pandhi is currently impressing the fans with his performance as Digvijay aka DJ in Vanshaj. The show keeps viewers engaged with its compelling storyline with intriguing twists and turns and the show has been running successfully on Sony Sab.

DJ or Digvijay thrives on power and firmly believes in the traditional values that only a man can be the heir to a family business, eventually creating a fierce rivalry between him and Yuvika (played by Anjali Tatrari). In an exclusive conversation with DNA, Mahir opened up on playing the villain in the show and about its similarities with Ranbir Kapoor's Ranvijay in Animal. 

Talking about the similarities between Animal's Ranbir Kapoor and Vanshaj's Digvijay, Mahir Pandhi said, "The similarities are not between the two characters or the two projects, but the similarities are a reminder that this (male dominating thinking) still exists in the society. This is there because people are taught this is how it is supposed to be. They have seen such things in their home and therefore they think it’s the right way until they are exposed to the real world. So it’s our way to remind people that this inequality isn’t right.

Talking about playing a negative role in the show, Mahir Pandhi said, "It is not your typical villain, it is not the guy who is only screaming and shouting and it has a lot of relatable facts. Digvijay does a lot of things that a good person would do but his way is different. That is what makes it relatable." 

He further explained, "You have those thoughts in a parallel universe where you are imagining things and someone says something, you want to give it back. In your head, you are giving it back to that person but in reality you don’t. So Digvijay is that parallel universe, he is giving it back and that’s not how you have seen villains because none talks like that. And that’s what Digvijay is, no matter how much you hate him, you’ll still like him."

Talking about the response to his character DJ in Vanshaj, Mahir Pandhi said, "This character is what I have always thought of. I might not be a popular figure to say this, but I always wanted to play a villain in a movie and I want to do a lot of South films. I always wanted to do a character like Digvijay or somewhere like the Joker or Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man or maybe someone from Peaky Blinders but too outspoken. So that’s what I have always wanted to do." 

He further added why playing positive leads is not as exciting as playing a villain and said, "When you play positive leads, there’s not much to do and you are limited to doing some things. Everyone has their trauma in life. And your behaviour is actually the explanation of your past and trauma. Technically, the positive character we play, is an example of how a person should be and the negative character is who a person is. So Digvijay is the hero of the story, you might call him a negative lead." 

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