Tanuj Virwani on shooting Code M season 2 during the pandemic, equation with Jennifer Winget and more

After the grand success of Code M,  Jennifer Winget and Tanuj Virwani are coming back again to take us on a thrilling ride with the second season of the show. The trailer of the show has been garnering a tremendous response from fan OTT fans. While Code M season 2 is set to stream on Voot from tomorrow, lead star Tanuj opens up about shooting the series during the pandemic, equation with Jennifer Winget and other interesting things in an exclusive conversation with Firstpost. Excerpts from the interview:
Since the expectations are sky-high from Code M season 2, so when you come to know about second part, were you excited or nervous because of the baggage of first season’s success?

I think I was both nervous as well as excited, to be honest. Because when you’re doing season one of any show, you’re like, okay, you know, if it works great, if it doesn’t, we’ll go back to the drawing board and see what we could have done differently or done better. But when it comes to season two and especially on a show that’s already been appreciated. Like Code M when it came out in 2020 January was a bit of a sleeper hit and because of the response and the continued response that it has got in because of social media, you are able to have a nice idea of what people are vibing, what they are enjoying, watching, what they’re not enjoying watching. So, when we stepped back on set for the second, second season, there was a little bit of nervousness in the air as a whole, because we’re like, okay, like I hope it’s not like one of those lightning in a bottle kind of situations.

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I hope we were able to recreate that magic and take it to the next level this time around because otherwise there’s no point. So it’s a bit of both. And, I think it’s good to be nervous as it keeps you hardworking, It keeps you grounded, It keeps you humble. And hopefully, that will result in another very successful season.

You have played several distinct characters. So, what process you go through to switch from one character to another?

So for me, my switch and switch off processes is literally music. I switch on certain music, certain playlist, I have a different playlist for every character that I try and structure, perhaps get me in the mood, there’ll be a happy song,
there’ll be a sad song, there’ll be an emotional song, there’ll be some instrumental pieces. And music really helps me to kind of get to where I need to be in whatever state of mind I need to be. So I used that a lot, you know, I’m not a trained actor, so I don’t really have any specific methods that other people follow. But I just do what I think works for me. So, it’s music, it’s literally switch on, switch off.

Were you stressed or followed any protocols while shooting for the show during the pandemic? 

You can follow all the protocols in the world but as we’ve seen in the past couple of years, it’s very tricky. Also as an actor, I can’t be wearing my mask all the time, because it’s all about showing your face in front of the camera. And you’re acting with so many costars and so much. And I mean, how paranoid are you going to possibly get. You have to at some point detach and just focus on the job at hand.

So yes, there was some repetition here, like, I hope nothing happens and all, but you have to take that leap of faith, hope for the best, be mindful, be alert, make sure everybody on set is following the protocol. So we did what we could and luckily we managed to get the season in the cam.

How your friends and family members reacted after watching the trailer?

So, the reaction unanimously across the board, be it friends, family, people on social media fans. Everyone has been extremely positive. It makes one feel very happy because it’s important that your first look, your first teaser, your first trailer, these things strike the right chord because then you are able to kind of like carry on with that sense of momentum. It’s very important and hats off to the entire marketing team because I think they’ve done a fantastic job and it’s a good indication of what the show is about. So, very excited and hopeful.

Any favourite reaction?

Well, a lot of my friends have been like chanting the Zindabad rap song, which I think is pretty awesome. And actually, I literally saw the trailer maybe half an hour before you guys did. So even when I saw it, I’m like, whoa, what was that, I didn’t know. We had a rap song in here, so that was quite a pleasant surprise that I love rap. So, a lot of my friends find that very, very catchy.

You might have seen the final rushes of the show. So, are you happy with the final output?

Firstly, I’ve not seen the completed show as yet. I’ve seen whatever I’ve dubbed for and you do get a fair idea of
how the show is shaping up, but at the same time, a lot of elements were not complete at the time. But I’m very instinctive In fact, I’m an actor who, I mean, I know it’s a little strange, but I don’t even check playback. I don’t like going to the monitor because I like having faith in my director, my DoP, my costars. If they feel something is wrong, something’s a bit off they’ll come and tell me. And I’ll kind of tweak it accordingly. But I instinctively had a good feeling. Every time I was shooting for the season where it could be a good day at work, it could be a good scene that we performed. And hopefully, that translates on screen.

A lot of mystery is built around your character. So, during the narration at what point you got hooked and said that’s it?

I mean, I don’t want to spoil it because the entire point of making a show like this is so you guys get to enjoy and see firsthand what happens. But, what was interesting for me is when I, when I read the script for the first time when they narrated to me actually is that there was a certain sense of familiarity because of course you are picking up from events of the previous season. So, you can’t have a radically different character, right? But at the same time, the way they managed to explore each individual character’s journey and the larger scheme of things, and the stakes were higher and it’s also moving forward and backward at the same time. There’s a lot of internalization. So, you understand a lot more about what makes Monica Mehra take or what makes Angad Sandhu take or what’s actually going on, or like a lot of things that may not have caught your eye in the first season.

So it was quite a deep dive back into this world of code M and I think these are the factors that helped me, like really gravitate towards this.

Your and Jennifer Winget’s bond is altogether a different thing? So, how did you prep or build an equation in an organic way or it happen on set?

Bro! You can’t prep chemistry. You either have a vibe with someone or you don’t. And luckily Jen and me have always gotten along since day one. So, we don’t even really have to drive very hard. It feels like a very comfortable,  trusting and lived in sort of equation that two of us have shared and that works for the show because you know, these two are supposed to be people who have known each other for a very, very long time. And lots of credit to our director because he’s the guy behind the lens is the guy on the monitor he’s seen playback. So he’s guiding us every step along the way.

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