Manav Vij focused on living up to audience expectations when reprising his role as special task force officer Kabir Farooqui in Tanaav Season 2. Directed by Sudhir Mishra, the political thriller returned after its successful first season in 2022. Vij admits it took time to grasp the impact his character had on viewers.
“The thing that remains in your mind is that people have liked this character, so you have to perform accordingly. You can’t play it in a completely new way. So, it takes time to understand the gravity of how much people have loved it and are attached to it. We have to live up to their expectations. But it’s not difficult because I had a strong team, who was there to guide me,” he says.
Even at the script level, Vij was excited to shoot for the new season. He felt a personal connection to the show’s patriotic themes. “I am a patriot by nature. It’s difficult for me to decide whose trauma is bigger—mine or my country’s. I have felt this debate since childhood. When I was reading the script of the second season, I saw how the personal trauma of my character was transferring to the country’s trauma. The aggression and stillness of my character had to go parallelly. That was a challenge, but I enjoyed doing it.”
Tanaav marked Vij’s debut as a leading man in his two-decade career, and he acknowledges the shift it brought. “Offers change. The perception definitely changes when you play a leading role. I have got a [heroic] projection in the show. The love and the bond that we [co-stars] have shared, I haven’t experienced that on any other set,” he reveals. He notes that actors often face inequitable treatment when not playing the protagonist. “I always believed no work is big or small. It’s the intent that matters.”
Despite enjoying his leading-man status, Vij does not dwell on the industry’s changing perception. “If something works, they will applaud you. And if it doesn’t, they will say, ‘We always knew he never deserved this.’ I focus more on my work than what the industry is thinking. My father does see a hero in me now. My elder brother shows more respect,” he laughs.