Sony LIV’s recently released series, Court Kacheri, centers on a quintessentially Indian father-son relationship. It features Pavan Malhotra, as an established lawyer and a persuasive father, wanting his son, Param Mathur (Ashish Verma) to follow in his footsteps. However, standing in the courtroom, wearing a black suit and making arguments is not Param’s forte. He wants to escape this world before it’s too late. It was a similar story for Pavan when he was doing theatre in Delhi. His father wanted him to learn the family business and was concerned that Pavan wouldn’t be able to make a living by acting. “For them, it was a risk that I was taking. They didn’t want to stop me or anything, but they were just concerned as parents,” he says. “At one point, I had to tell them that I have decided to survive in this field, no matter how good, bad, or ugly it gets.”
The journey was different for Ashish, known for his performances in films such as Article 15 (2019), Atrangi Re (2021), and Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya (2024), among others. In Court Kacheri, he embodies the frustration of Param with a blend of the comical and vulnerable. There is some similarity between him and Param as the actor’s mother is a lawyer, and so was his grandfather. Even Ashish thought of becoming one himself and was selected for a law school as well. But the call for acting was stronger, and there was no resistance from his parents either. “My mother said, ‘There is already a lawyer at home. What will you do by becoming one?” Ashish says with a smile.
For Pavan, the first time he went to the court was to provide a guarantee for his friend. He recalls the nervous moment when he was asked to get into the witness box with his papers. “The judge asked me, ‘Whose guarantee are you giving?’. I gestured to my friend, and the entire court erupted in laughter. The judge then told me not to gesture but say it out loud,” Pavan says. The actor also visited courts while working as a production manager on Saeed Akhtar Mirza’s Mohan Joshi Haazir Ho (1984). That’s when he came across “all sorts of people doing law”. “In India, there are many who don’t have anything else to do, so they study law,” he smiles.
Writer-actor Puneet Batra, who has worked on the show’s screenplay and has also played the role of a lawyer, visited the courts along with his team during the writing process. Puneet says that it was helpful to witness the hearings up close to understand the nuances of how judges operate, and the kind of relationship they share with lawyers. He also spoke to some lawyers to understand their perspective, even turning some of their words into quirky dialogues in the show. “Lawyers are performers. They have a certain flair and theatrics when they are in the courtroom. There is an inherent actor in them,” Puneet feels, adding that he visited multiple courts to understand different dynamics at play. “So, now if I have any issues in my contracts in future, I can say that I have many lawyer friends,” he says with a chuckle.
It was the on-ground experience that brought a certain flavour to the screenplay, according to Puneet. So, when Ashish heard the script being narrated to him by director Ruchir Arun, he instantly wanted to be part of this world. But he was told that they were looking for someone leaner for the character of Param. Ashish still didn’t let go. “I told Ruchir to give me two months, and I lost over 12 kilos in that time. When I went back to him, he was convinced,” Ashish says. He didn’t want to let go of the series as it is the first project where he is playing the protagonist. “Every actor wants to do that,” he says. “When you are playing a protagonist, you get to live the full arc of the character and have more screen time. Everything else stays the same,” says the actor, who also feels that he has been ‘typecast’ in some films by being imagined for similar roles. “There have been moments when I was doing a particular scene in a film and trying something new when I was told, ‘No no, don’t do that. Do what you did in that film’. So, it is important to have sensitive collaborators who want you to break your pattern,” he says.
Ashish also found the presence of Pavan quite positive on the set. He said that the veteran actor would encourage him and advise him on the importance of maintaining fitness as an actor. "He would say that it is all about longevity," says Ashish. Pavan adds how he gave an example of Aamir Khan to Ashish and told him not to worry about his height. “If you watch Aamir in Dangal (2016), he is not wearing any heels, and is fat and old. But you never feel odd. You root for the character because of the performance,” says Pavan.
Known for his powerful performances in films like Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro (1989), Black Friday (2005) and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013), the actor has become choosier about the kind of work he wants to do now, saying that it’s the instincts that still guide him to a good script. “It is also important to know how the director sees the written material,” he says. “Also, it is teamwork. When an actor performs well, we should be thankful for the way the scene is lit or how the sound is designed because that’s what enhances what the actor does.” Pavan feels that being an actor also has a lot to do with destiny. “You have to be at the right place at the right time,” he says before concluding, “The apple will fall, but it is you who has to take the bite.”