Mohan Kapoor Reveals: Why Marvel's "Deeply Disciplined" Set Culture Shocked Him

Mohan was speaking to Pooja Bhatt on her podcast. The filmmaker asked the actor what was the difference that he experienced as a professional when he was shooting for the first Miss Marvel and what was the work environment like.

Reflecting on his time in the US during the shoot, Kapoor said what struck him the most was seeing women handling heavy technical work on set.

“The thing that was most heartening for me… I saw women doing heavy lifting and I mean heavy lifting. I am saying they were lifting big ass lights, literally lifting weights… I was like ‘behenji main karun?’ I was shocked… This is something I found very strange in the States. Everyone does their job.”

Drawing a parallel with everyday life during the Covid period, Mohan recalled an incident at a supermarket where a staff member refused to help beyond his designated responsibility.

He explained: “I was staying in an apartment and I wanted to stock up because it was Covid… So, I went into this supermarket… and there’s one guy stocking something up on a ladder… So I asked him where I could find… he said why dont you look over there… He said ‘then you got me my friend.. that’s way above my pay grade…’ His job is just stocking…”

The actor pointed out that the same structure was evident on the shooting floor. With Covid restrictions limiting crew strength, the set functioned like a “well-oiled machine”.

“In a professional environment in a shooting set, everybody was queued into it. Not learning on the job also because it was Covid the number of times was reduced. So, everyone was like a well oiled machine. You had to be on time doing everything.”

Recalling an incident from the first day of shoot, he said a one-hour delay caused by a camera issue was immediately documented.

“The EP (executive producer) came with his iPad and asked the director to log the reason for the delay. Everything had to be accounted for,” Mohan said, adding that the lack of such accountability remains a larger issue in India across sectors.

“I find that as a problem in India holistically. There is no accountability,” he said.

Ms. Marvel is the seventh television series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It follows Kamala Khan, a 16-year-old fangirl of the Avengers who struggles to fit in until she gains her own powers.

Iman Vellani stars as Kamala Khan, with Matt Lintz, Yasmeen Fletcher, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Saagar Shaikh, Laurel Marsden, Azhar Usman, Rish Shah, Arian Moayed, Alysia Reiner, Laith Nakli, Nimra Bucha, Travina Springer, Adaku Ononogbo, Samina Ahmad, Fawad Khan, Mehwish Hayat, Farhan Akhtar, and Aramis Knight also starring.

Despite being the most senior actor on ‘Miss Marvel’, Mohan said he constantly sought feedback from younger co-actors.

“I remember in Miss Marvel me and this lady who played my wife Zenobia Shroff were the only two people who had done work before and considering the body of work I was the most senior person. If it was a scene where I felt I needed feedback….”

“Even after hearing a wow from people I would go to the younger actors and say was I alright did I pitch it right? …”

“She said you’re Mohan Kapoor, you have done so much work why are you asking… There is a reason… I said I have worked in India. Our sensibilities and the way we pitch our dialogues and emotions are different.

Mohan also highlighted the rarity of his Marvel journey, having appeared across three franchises including ‘Miss Marvel’, ‘The Marvels’ and ‘Daredevil: Born Again’.

“Three Marvel franchises ... .The only character in the Marvel universe that traversed three Miss Marvel, The Marvels and Daredevil…”

Calling the experience surreal, the actor added: “On the red carpet theta asked me, has your dream come true? I said that coming from India I never dreamt that I would be here. I don’t have that audacity… But what I am doing is my dream and I don't want to wake up.”

- IANS