By the looks of it, Pritam and Pedro, the latest JioHotstar web series which began streaming on July 3, promised to be a light-hearted caper. Arshad Warsi, who plays Pedro Gonsalves in the series, wants to set the expectations straight, though. Talking about his character and the show, Arshad says, “I like Pedro a lot — there is depth and maturity to him, a lot of pain, and yet there is also a smile. If we take out the humour, it could feel like the saddest character you have ever seen. There are so many problems in his life and yet we have to portray it as light and happy. It is very difficult to tap that complexity.”
Arshad, who is part of many popular comedy franchises like Dhamaal, Welcome, and Golmaal, credits his directors for helping him keep his comic roles distinct, despite the potential for repetition. He adds, “Fortunately, I don’t have to think about this alone. This is where the writer and director’s thinking comes in. The way Raju looks at his characters is totally different how Rohit Shetty looks at it. Ofcourse I always try to do it better, but with their help, I end up bringing these differences too.”
Rajkumar Hirani talks about what drew him to Pritam and Pedro. “I found this cyber world very interesting. It had not been explored before. Also, this show is not pure comedy — it could have been serious or light-hearted, but it is a mix of both. There are emotions, there is a buddiness. Both the characters have their problems, and at the same time, there is an investigative story happening.” The filmmaker also credits the books Hidden Files (published by Unbound Script, 2025) and Return of the Trojan Horse (published by Leadstart Publishing) by Amit Dubey, on which the series is based, as a reason he got onboard. He adds, “Firstly, the books were the reason why I was inspired. It had many short stories where they took a case and solved it. But we could not make a film from it, so I had to figure out how to adapt it as a series. Initially, Suyash Trivedi and Amit did the work, then we stepped in — Abhijat, me and some other writers. This has been a long working process, in all.”
Pritam and Pedro also marks the acting debut for Rajkumar Hirani’s son Vir Hirani, who plays Pritam Parker, a kind-hearted and introverted tech genius. Arshad is full of praises for his debutant co-star, whom he also saw growing up. He says, “He's extremely hardworking, and understands cinema. Since childhood, he's been part of writing and directing short films. He could have pursued cinematography or anything else. His love for this profession is immense — acting is just adding on to it.” The Munnabhai MBBS (2003) actor also recalls being always sure about Vir’s potential as an actor. He recalls, “I don't know if Raju remembers this, but I said it the first time I saw him, I said 'He looks like a hero, man!'”' Vir’s demeanor, innocence, the way he talks — he has all the qualities an actor must have, qualities that the camera and the audience catch.”
Arshad recalls his own first day as an actor on sets of Tere Mere Sapne (1996), after working as a choreographer and dancer for many years. “It was very difficult for me, and so odd because everyone knew I was a dancer. But that day, I couldn’t dance — that’s because the school I came from, the dancing was a little slow. Every beat had two moves. Meanwhile, here, we were doing very fast moves; I was doing chest bumps with the heroine. I was feeling more shy than her. It was difficult to get into that mindspace. I had gone for a World Dancing Championship before; I had to forget everything, and do this." Further reflecting on those years, he adds, “Consciously, I had made up my mind — that I never wanted to be known as a dancer who can act. I would rather be an actor who can dance. So, I never pushed my dancing; till date, I don’t.”
Sehar (2005), one of those other rare occasions when Arshad played a cop, remains one of the actor’s most underrated films. When asked about other films from his oeuvre that he wishes more people discovered, Arshad talks about his 2003 film Waisa Bhi Hota Hai II. He says, “It’s a completely mad film, way ahead of its time. I still remember getting a compliment from Mahesh Bhatt saying he loved me in that movie, and one particular scene where I didn’t have lines but was just reacting out of fear. I think today’s generation will really like it.”
