I finished watching The Family Man and absolutely loved the show. Apart from the compelling storyline, deep characterisation and great cinematography, what worked for the show was convincing performances by the actors. Neeraj Madhav is one of the cast members. Madhav is an actor, rapper and dancer, predominantly in Malayalam cinema. He portrays the dark and multidimensional character of the terrorist, Moosa Rehman. Hailing from Kerala, he has acted in a couple of Malayalam films like Drishyam (2013), Oru Vadakkan Selfie (2015) and Oru Mexican Aparatha (2017). He debuted in Mollywood through Raaj Prabavathy Menon’s Buddy and went on to become a part of box office successes like Drishyam. A man of many talents, he even released a rap song called Pani Paali in 2020 which gained 5 million views within the first week of release. His performance in The Family Man garnered praise from the viewers and can be seen as a perfect way to enter the Hindi entertainment industry.

Moosa’s character in The Family Man is a complex one. Although he is a conventionally dark character, we also get to see some shades of grey in him. Initially, he seems to be a side character - a chemical engineer stuck in Syria who regrets being associated with ISIS. He wants to meet his mother from the beginning of the series and that is the only statement that stands true till the end. 

The show subtly touches on how a terrorist becomes a terrorist. When in the hospital, Moosa narrates to Srikant the story of his family being murdered in the Gujarat riots of 2002 and how it traumatised his mother. Later in the story, we realise that this incident is what drove him to the path of terrorism. The soft, mama’s boy in the first 5 episodes, turns out to be the highly wanted terrorist, Al Qatil. At this point, the audience wants to believe that he isn’t dangerous, but the facts tell a different story.  He makes us feel sorry for him and that is the quality of a remarkable actor. His character goes through a range of emotions like sadness, helplessness, anger, lust and longing and all of them are beautifully put forward by Neeraj Madhav.

His character goes from being insignificant to central in an unexpected turn of events. This not only shows the different shades of Moosa as a character but also of Madhav as an actor. It is not everyday that an actor from Mollywood steals the show in a Hindi web series, but I'm here for it! I’m sure this is just the beginning for the actor. Madhav will soon be seen in Netflix’s ‘Feels Like Ishq’ which is an anthology of 7 stories that celebrate love in all its wonder and unpredictability. I’m sure his capabilities will carve out a colourful acting career for him.