Even after delivering promising performances in his 12-year career, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub prefers to approach his work like a novice. The idea, he says, is to use one’s life experiences to keep evolving as an artiste. The actor adopted the same approach in his next, Joram, which will be premiered at the 52nd International Film Festival of Rotterdam.

Ayyub says director Devashish Makhija is looking at India from a fresh gaze, through the survival thriller. “The way Devashish weaves in what he wants to say in a story [is fascinating]. Joram doesn’t have a [conventional] story, but it has powerful moments. My character belongs to an underprivileged community in Mumbai. But when he travels to remote places, he realises that he is relatively more privileged than several others. This is communicated wonderfully in the film,” he shares.