A true friend at the workplace makes the job easy. That’s how it has been for TV presenter-turned-actors — Mini Mathur and Cyrus Sahukar — on the sets of The Malhotras. Having hosted pop culture TV shows together in the late 1990s, the hit pair stepped into the shoes of a fun, relatable and bickering couple, Shefali and Rishabh Malhotra, in the Amazon Prime Video show adapted from the Israeli sitcom La Famiglia.

In Season 1, we saw the worried couple seeking therapy to iron out the troubles in their marriage. In Season 2, Mini’s Shefali gives a shot at having a career as the children have grown up. Cyrus’s Rishabh, a man-child, has his eyes on a business merger but his wife, mother, children and house help keep him on his toes.

The Telegraph Online chatted with Mini Mathur and Cyrus Sahukar about the new season of Mind the Malhotras, their 20-year-old camaraderie and Cyrus’s recent wedding.

The last time we met the Matlhotras was before the pandemic. How is the family doing?

Cyrus: Oh, a lot has happened! Rishabh’s father passed away and he is busy with a company merger. My wife, Shefali, has decided to do something on her own, besides looking after the home. My mom has a boyfriend. A lot is going on with the kids. Zoru (Zorawar, the house help) has a girlfriend and wants to get married. Yeah, a lot has happened. (Smiles)

The show’s urban family template is highly relatable, but a lot of issues are touched upon in good humour too.

Mini: Every character has a purpose now, so it makes it easy for a family to relate to them. Many have told me that they have watched the show with the entire family. It’s the need of the hour to watch something uplifting, relatable and funny. That’s what we are aiming to do and hopefully have done.

From normalising seeking therapy to parenting, elderly people finding love to same-sex relationships, Mind The Malhotras does it all with ease.

Mini: Therapy has been buried for too long. We don’t acknowledge it. We are normalising therapy, not because the marriage is breaking up but just to make sure it doesn’t break.

Cyrus: That is the best thing that can come out of the show. Season 1 presented therapy with the genre of dramedy. It opened the dialogue that it’s okay to seek counselling and therapy, especially now as we are getting so insular. Rishabh presents the predicament of a good guy, his fear and his worries, and it shows the social positioning that all men are not ready for the level of responsibility, and in many ways, their dreams have also gone left, right and centre. Underneath this comedic setup, a lot of interesting things have been touched upon. If this does well, then there will be many more shows because there are very few shows which everyone can sit and watch, where nobody is hacked, murdered or shot, especially now more than ever.

The cast of Mind the Malhotras

You two share a friendship of 20 years and your characters in Mind the Malhotras are married for two decades. Did knowing each other for such a long time make it easy?

Mini: I am glad it reflects on screen because to portray 20 years of marriage, you can’t just suddenly bring that chemistry out on screen and make it believable. And the fact that you are working with one of your closest friends, that familiarity translating onto the screen, is great for the show. For me, the biggest plus was that one month in the year, I will be spending time on the sets with a co-star who is my friend, who has got my back and I got his. Every lunchtime was a joyous moment. With the bonhomie and warmth, it made us believable as a family without having to pretend.

So, the work environment does matter…

Mini: The work environment supersedes everything, be it the role or the platform. If I am not enjoying it, it’s going to reflect in my work.

Cyrus: Anything that is mildly comedic, or the attempt of anything that is mildly comedic, needs a slightly more peaceful and caring atmosphere because the heaviness starts to creep in. And you are shooting for 14 to15 hours a day and working hard, so if you don’t have that environment, it’s traumatising. You want to be happy because you are giving a large part of your life and that applies to any job; nobody blooms in a toxic environment.

How did your respective better halves react after watching the show?

Cyrus: I have been out (on a holiday) with Vaishali for 26 days and haven’t had the chance to watch it yet.

Mini: Vaishali won’t be cute about it. She would tell us this worked and this didn’t. Well, Kabir (Khan, director) sat down, watched and laughed and laughed. (Laughs) He kept saying that Cyrus is very funny. To the fourth ‘Cyrus is very funny’, I was like ‘Excuse me, what about me?’ He told me I am good, but Cyrus is very good. (Grins)

In the late 1990s, MTV was like millennials’ Instagram and the TV presenters were the coolest gang. Imagine, if social media was there at that time…

Mini: Glad we didn’t have it ya.

Cyrus: Thank god, we are the last generation to have known life without it.

Mini: Also, no mobile phones! Eventually, we had mobile phones but (Cyrus) Broacha still doesn’t own one. It was so nice with landline phones. It was lovely to have no social media and to not pretend who we were not. Everything we were, we put it out. Our personalities were on screen. Maybe that’s why we are still remembered.

Cyrus: I also think I remember that time because there was no social media.

Recently, I went to see the cenotes in Mexico, which are like underground caves, and no cellular phones were allowed. I was happy because, otherwise, all we would do is click pictures, then review those pictures and remember nothing. There were magical moments when there was no Instagram. I feel lucky to have seen it.

So, does the old VJ gang meet up?

Cyrus: I recently shot a series (of commercial ads for a computer brand) with (Cyrus) Broacha. He is still the way he has always been. Mini, Maria (Goretti), and I meet very often. Yes, there should be constant reunions. There is one every year and we don’t miss it.

We saw a reunion of sorts with the best TV presenters under one roof at Cyrus’s wedding. Tell us about the best moments.

Mini: OMG, as everyone was arriving at different times, I was after everyone to rehearse the dance. Cyrus’s wedding was such that everywhere I turned, there was a room full of love. Everybody felt like the father of the bride or the mother of the groom. That’s the biggest blessing one can have, and we have had crazy moments. Maria and I did a Sangeet performance because our dancing abilities are so different. I think Cyrus doing stand-up at his wedding is the funniest I have ever seen. After his reception dinner, he was in a great mood and he made everyone fall off. Cyrus is unintentionally funny.

Cyrus: At my wedding, the guests were the hosts. Weddings are stressful.

Mini: But we had a blast!

Cyrus: It was beautiful, and we didn’t want it to end. It was a small number of people under one roof for two to three days. It was like a party. It was fab.

Mini: Everyone got together. I can’t tell him to get married again but let’s have a party again. (Laughs)

Mini, we stalked you on Instagram. You look so graceful, and your stylist should be given a raise. We know you are very passionate about skincare but what do you do to look like this?

Mini: I don’t have a stylist, so I need to give myself a raise because I am doing a good job. (Laughs) I am very curious about skincare. It’s a big amalgamation of what I have learnt from my mother and now having to travel to beauty centres such as South Korea, where the best skincare products are made. I like experimenting with the most holistic natural ways to get skin and hair look good. I am so glad that it finds resonance with people.

What’s next for you both?

Cyrus: I did a show, Potluck (Sony LIV), and finished Season 2. I have another show coming — It Happens Only In India — where we show crazy bizarre things that people do and I tour around the country. Also, I want to rest, maybe do an acting course, rethink, and spend more time exploring instead of jumping from one thing to another.

Mini: I have some new show offers. Besides that, this year, I want to sit and write. I don’t know what form it will take. Also, I will be releasing Season 2 of Mini Me, a travel show. It was shot pre-pandemic but I didn’t put it out as everyone was in lockdown.