Exclusive | Pratik Gandhi on Atithi Bhooto Bhava and more: ‘Nothing in life should come easily’

It took 15-years for Pratik Gandhi to get a break in the Hindi film industry with Harshad Mehta in Scam 1992. Gandhi believes that as an actor there are two phases in his life – one is pre-Scam and the other is post-scam. And both the phases have been equally enriching for him as a craftsman. As Atithi Bhooto Bhava releases today, Firstpost catches up with him for an exclusive interview. He talks about the #BoycottBollywood culture and how Scam gave him the recognition as an actor.

 Edited excerpts from the interview:

 On your role in Atithi Bhooto Bhava… 

 The character’s name is Shrikanth and he shares a love-hate relationship with his girlfriend. I play the role of a stand-up comedian who meets the ghost of his grandson from previous birth. Actor Jackie Shroff plays the role of a ghost, who refuses to leave his surroundings because of some unfinished business. My character takes an interesting turn when I meet Jackie Shroff.

Learning lessons from the yesteryear actors…

This is the second time I am working with Jackie Shroff. By working with him you can understand how genuine a person he is. His emotions are unique and there is no filter. That is the learning lesson or the take away when you get when you work with actors of his caliber. Jackie Shroff is a brilliant craftsman and the warmth and personality is unique. I remember for my first film with him, he made me feel so comfortable and I had that star-struck look on my face.

Your journey in the entertainment industry and how playing Harshad Mehta in ‘Scam 1992’ changed your life?

 It changed my life completely. I got recognition as an actor through Scam. Doing the role was like a dream come true for me.  When I played the role of Harshad Mehta, I concentrated on unlearning the negative streaks of the character and concentrating on the positives.

I believe for me my life has two different phases, one is pre -scam and other one is post scam. As an actor, the kind of satisfaction that I received through Scam is unbelievable. Now my directors, producers and most importantly my audience are confident about me and my craft. It was after Scam that people started approaching me with scripts and I was offered different kinds of roles which are challenging.

Your journey in the entertainment industry…

I have been around for the last seventeen years now. Then Scam happened that helped my work reach a wider audience. But before that the journey was exciting too since I come from a theatre background. Nobody in my family was into full time acting. There are a lot of artists in my family, but nobody is a professional artist. So, I am the first person in my family to make a living out of art. Theatre taught me the craft so well that I used to look forward to going on stage and breathing with the audience. But at some point, it did reach a level of saturation. But theatre gave me the first stepping stone starting from doing a Gujarati film, ‘Wrong Side Raju’ and winning the national award.

The journey was very tough, not just tough. But it was enriching at the same time. I was forty when I got a break with Scam. Now when I look back and reflect, I feel whatever happened, it happened at the right time and for the best. One shouldn’t get anything in life easily. I value this time more because I got it it the harder way.

With the OTT coming in, with no concept of hero and heroine… do you think it would have been better had the digital platform been there when you started off?

You are right, with the OTT coming in it has brought about a lot of change in the concept of a hero. I would rather put it this way, now everybody is a hero. In terms of format, selection of content, it has given a huge lift to the art of cinema. Had OTT been there earlier, I am sure it would have helped me and a lot of other actors who had to wait for so long to get a chance in the entertainment industry.

Is Bollywood losing out its swag to regional films?

Regional cinema has always been rich in content, selection of artists and format of storytelling also. I feel regional cinema is always experimenting with new things, unlike Bollywood and fortunately with the taste of the audience changing, they are getting recognition.

On the Boycott Bollywood and the cancel culture…

It must stop. Not just for the actors, but there are others too who are working in the industry who are getting affected badly. I don’t understand the logic behind it and where it is coming from.

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