Bollywood actor Kay Kay Menon has said that genre has never been a deciding factor when he chooses a role — it is the script and the people behind a project that ultimately earn his commitment. The actor made these remarks while speaking about his latest project, the satirical comedy-drama Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya, which released on OTT on 24 July.

Script Over Genre

Menon was candid about his approach to selecting work, dismissing the idea that he consciously avoids or gravitates toward any particular genre. 'It's not that a genre really that I worried about. It's about what is there. So, I have done Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd., I have done Sankat City, I have done Farzi. This character in Adarsh Baal is extremely different,' he said.

He described his character in the new show as someone with a contradictory quality: 'He is selfish, but at the same time there is something innocent about his selfishness. That was the attempt.' It is a departure from the morally unambiguous roles for which Menon is most widely recognised.

The Decision Behind Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya

Menon said his decision to join the project was fully deliberate, driven by a combination of factors rather than any single element. 'There is a script in this, the team etc. All of this put together makes you say yes to a project. It's not just one aspect,' he explained.

He added that the first episode was narrated to him by Biswapati Sarkar, the show's writer and creator, and it left an immediate impression. 'The first episode was read out to me by Biswa and it was very funny. I told them that even if I achieve what is there in the script, then I will be able to cross it,' he said. He also offered a characteristic quip: 'I am seriously funny.'

On Pressure and Performance

The actor also reflected on the role of tension in delivering a strong performance, arguing that a degree of pressure is not just unavoidable but necessary. 'If there is no tension, then you don't achieve anything. That much tension should be there, otherwise it becomes too lacklustre,' he said.

Notably, Menon was equally pointed about decision-making itself: 'Decisions normally are conscious. I normally do that. I don't make any decision after I go unconscious. It's possible that I make a wrong decision. That too is conscious,' he quipped — a remark that underscores his deliberate, considered approach to his craft.

A Career Built Across Genres

Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya is directed by Sameer Saxena and written by Biswapati Sarkar. The show arrives as the latest addition to a filmography that spans intense dramatic films — Black Friday, Shaurya, Sarkar, Gulaal, Haider, The Ghazi Attack, and Special Ops — alongside comedies such as Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. and Sankat City, and the acclaimed web series Farzi.

With strong early reviews for Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya, Menon appears to have added another credible entry to a body of work that resists easy categorisation — which, by his own account, is exactly the point.