His successful collaboration with filmmaker Hansal Mehta with Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story is the stuff of dreams. Now, Pratik Gandhi is working with him again in an untitled family drama that is expected to go on floors in a few days. The actor, who has quite a few impressive projects in his kitty, gets candid about the challenges that come with working in mainstream Hindi movies. Excerpts:
After the success of your debut Hindi web series, Scam 1992, have you been subjected to a lot of scrutiny and questions about your forthcoming projects?
Post Scam 1992, one of the most frequently asked questions to me is how difficult has it been to decide my next project. Initially, I did give this a thought, but then I realised that there is no method or process for it. The way I think has helped me till now. I say yes to scripts that I connect with. That is what has brought me here and I don’t want to change that. Jismein mazaa aayega wohi karenge! (I will do what brings me joy).
What can you tell us about your new film?
It’s a common man’s story and the perspective is very real. It touches upon various aspects of the society — social, economic, political as well as legal. This country is counted among the world powers today, yet it is facing so many issues. The movie addresses some of them.
This is your second outing with Hansal Mehta and the expectations will be huge. Does that put a lot of pressure on you?
No, if you take the pressure, it becomes difficult to judge anything. I just look at the world of the script and what I can bring to it. Hansal is a producer in this one. I wanted to work with Pulkit (director) for the longest time. We come from the same school of thought when it comes to our understanding of cinema and the craft. That is comforting and exciting at the same time.
Playing a character in a web series gives you the advantage of building him up in front of the audience for eight-nine hours as compared to when you play a character in a movie for two hours. Is your approach and prep towards them the same?
Scam... was my first experience of the long format. It was almost like doing five films! The audience saw the journey of the character and they could connect with the emotions. I have done almost 10-12 films now. In a movie, the biggest difference is the way the character is portrayed on the script level and the setup of each and every scene. As an actor, one has to add value and nuances that can enhance the scene and the story. There are a lot of things that have happened to the character in his life that are not shown and as an actor, you have to convey them with a word or look or emotion. In two hours, I have to say a lot of things, which are not even written, sometimes not even visualised by the director or writer. Actors have to fill in those gaps and add the between-the-line nuances. If I have managed to do that, all credit goes to my regional cinema and theatre experience.
There have been times that actors who were great in theatre and regional cinema have not managed to make a mark in mainstream cinema. Do you have any such apprehensions about yourself?
Yes, there are many actors who are great on stage, but the moment they come on screen, it just doesn’t work. You don’t get that spark or feel. Even I have thought about what the attributes should be if one has to be accepted on screen. I still don’t have the right answers to that question, but what I have understood is that if you are able to carry those emotions and draw the audience into your world, then it works. Playing Harshad Mehta’s character gave me that boost and confidence. The audience could tolerate me on screen for so many hours, not get bored and stay with the emotions for the length of the story. It worked and that gave me a lot of confidence that the same thing can be translated to cinema as well. An honest performance works with the audience. That is what I have experienced with theatre and with Gujarati films as well. So, yes, I am confident and I hope that this works in Hindi cinema too.
The big question I ask myself — and I am aware of it — is that there is a huge possibility that I was selected for Harshad’s role because, like him, I am also a Gujarati. I am mindful that I have to break out from that mould and create my space in mainstream cinema. For that, I have to prove myself time and again. If filmmakers are seeing me in different avatars, then I have to prove myself there. For instance, my new film is set in Uttar Pradesh. The nuances of that culture and the way Hindi is spoken there are different. I have to imbibe all that. I am going through a good learning phase.
You have played real-life characters on screen and on stage. Is that more challenging as compared to when you play a fictional character?
Real-life and fictional characters have their own unique challenges. With real-life characters, people already know what happened with them. They know the stories and the theories. As an actor, what I explore is what must have happened in their mind, which is open to interpretation. I avoid mimicking them. Instead, I imbibe the characteristics we want to concentrate on. Similarly for fictional characters, I try and focus on what we are trying to communicate to the audience. I have to get into the logical part there as well. Even if I don’t say it in a dialogue, I have to know it so I can create that layer.
