Aankiet Mohan, playing Lord Hanuman in Mahabali is more than a performance; it is a spiritual journey
His ‘predecessors’ in cinema have included illustrious names from Dara Singh to Sunny Deol. But Aankiet Mohan promises that he will be a different Lord Hanuman in Mahabali, a Broadway-style mythological musical that reimagines the Ramayana through the perspective of Lord Hanuman.
Aankiet's been around for almost 20 years and has done serials like Sasural Genda Phool, Kasamh Se, Ghar Aaja Pardesi (on the sets of which he met his wife, Ruchi Savarn), Mahabharat and Kumkum Bhagya along with films like Mausam and Thamma besides a sizable Marathi chunk that includes Farzand, Pawankhind and Veer Murarbaji.
Excerpts from the interview:
Let’s talk about you as Lord Hanuman in Mahabali first.
(Smiles) More than a project, I call it a blessing! It’s a pure feeling that I was chosen for this. And why I call myself the chosen one is that I am 40 now, have a five-year-old son and there is so much to do. God wants me to fulfil my dreams.
I feel everything comes to you at the right time. I am a hundred percent sure that this project has come into my life for a reason and that I will progress in theater. Theater is one area I missed out in my struggle days, because so many artistes start out with theatre before going on other platforms. I think that it is amazing that I have got a chance to play such an iconic role after 19 years in Mumbai, and to essay it live, something I have never experienced till date.
I am a little nervous, there are butterflies in my stomach, and I have cold feet, but there is also a hundred percent confidence that I am going to do it well!
Like you said, most artistes begin with the stage and you have gone the reverse way. How challenging was memorizing dialogues as now there are no retakes, or directors yelling ‘Action!’ and ‘Cut!’?
Theater is definitely tougher as it is a ‘live’ thing. But if you do something with purity from the bottom of your heart, it is not difficult. Besides, I have always been a rattu tota (crammer) in my projects! I started with good TV shows where you get scripts on the same day as the shoot. The major excitement here is about doing it live, not that I won’t have retakes.
How were you chosen for this role?
Everything has a root and I really want to appreciate and mention my friend Riya Deepsi here. She acted with me in Mahabharat 12 years ago. We remain each other’s well-wishers, but not deep friends in regular contact. She was doing a play with my producers. They were figuring out who to cast as Bajrang Bali as it was a bigger production than a normal play, and she took my name and said that I might do justice to the role. When I met producer Abhishek Narayan, we just connected and I was working from the next day.
For the uninitiated, what is the difference between a normal play and a ‘Broadway-style’ one?
A play revolves around a few characters, but with ‘Broadway’ the word itself has ‘Broad’ in it, so there are some 40 to 50 people, big props and lavish costumes. There is a different style of performing, especially since we are doing a mythological. There will be elaborate hand and body gestures. So, everything is larger-than-life. I am going in as a blank slate. I have taken on Mahabali like the first project of my life!
Mythology and especially stories on Hanuman are currently big in cinema. Do you think that gives an advantage to Mahabali?
I think my Bajrang Bali will connect! (Smiles) I did go to watch Hanuman Ansh, and cried a lot in the film as I could connect with the story. I have been reading the Hanuman Chalisa from childhood. I have read the Sundara Kand, the only chapter of the Ramayana in which the principal protagonist is Hanuman. I have turned vegetarian for this role and called for 200 printed T-shirts of Hanuman-ji for my fans. I go and come back barefoot from my home to the rehearsals. This is my process. I surrender myself to the Universe and the divine force so that I do not make any mistake.
Why do you think mythology is so big today?
A big reason is our youth. For example, the Mahabharat of which I was a part and the Mahabharat were 30 years apart. Technology has made huge strides and today we have VFX and other ways of enhancing quality. I was impressed to find that 70 percent of the houseful show of Hanuman Ansh was the youth. Maybe all this is helping them spiritually. Besides, youngsters today are finding things out for themselves, like why, for example, Bhim is so strong, rather than having parents explain it to them.
It’s been quite a journey for you after starting out with MTV Roadies!
Even that happened, I think, because destiny wanted me to become an actor! I come from a business background and am a very family-oriented guy. We are a joint clan in Delhi and I never thought that I would leave them one day and live in a different city! During Roadies’ third season, I had gone there to support a friend’s brother, and I was wearing chappals and not well-dressed, as I was on pocket money. And he got rejected but I was selected! But I was very new and nervous. So, I worked on my body and fitness for a year after that on my dad’s advice and from there came MTV Roadies 4.
You have done several Marathi films. How did that come about?
I am from old Delhi, but it’s been about nine years since I have been a part of the Marathi industry. When a Punjabi is accepted even by the Marathi industry and audience and people in the interiors of Maharashtra like Sangli and Karad treat me like their own blood, it reiterates my belief that I am the chosen one. This happened through my wife’s friend, director Digpal Lanjekar, who, on one fine day, asked me to play the title role of (Kondaji) Farzand, who along with 60 warriors won the Panhala Fort against a much bigger army. It was Digpal’s first film and I asked him why he thought of me when he could work with any Marathi actor. Also, I was ignorant about both Maratha history and the language. But when he said, “Leave all that to me!” it made me realize something: God has replaced me from big projects maybe because it was not the right time.
What else is coming up?
The Marathi film, Veer Murarbaji: The Battle of Purandar in which I play the title role. I am also playing a stylized antagonist in Gunmaster G9.
