Uday Shankar Pani, better known for his sitcoms like Dekh Bhai Dekh, has also been a pursuer of fine art. However, that passion and training took a back seat; films and television took priority. Today, Pani gears up to showcase his works of art in his first-ever solo painting exhibition — From Celluloid to Canvas. The exhibition will feature approximately 57 paintings at Grescasa, Laxmi Industrial Estate, Andheri (W), from December 16 to 20, 2025.
Excerpts from the interview:
Film to canvas... please elucidate the journey.
In fact, from canvas to films and back to canvas. While in school, I earned pocket money illustrating books, and during my Delhi University days, I won university cartoon competitions. Although I loved doing theatre and dancing (Kathak and Bhangra), I had one aim: to join the army, with no alternatives. After getting rejected twice by the NDA, destiny directed me to the Pune-based FTII after my graduation. Getting into filmmaking was a dream come true for me. It was a medium where I could use all the talent I had. I felt lucky getting into a world of challenges and ultimate creative satisfaction. Inducing army-like discipline helped me survive in the film world, which I realised was the king of all professions. After assisting great masters, I directed nine feature films, made landmark TV serials, big corporates, popular ads, music videos, political films, and got involved with major global productions as an associate director and line producer. And now, I am back to canvas with my first-ever art exhibition out in the world.
What satisfies you more – film or painting?
Obviously, filmmaking… I feel painting is a part and parcel of cinema. However, my approach for both the mediums has been the same. I don't start a film or a painting till it is clearly painted in my mind. I also plan in advance the content, pattern, tools, and systems. Once the basics are over and the product is ready, I switch off my subjectivity as the creator and look at my creation objectively from the audience’s point of view for further improvements. It's a difficult balance, only possible by being a normal and balanced human being. When I teach my film students in film schools, I always tell them to learn painting before venturing into filmmaking to understand colour combinations and compositions. I believe it is important for a good filmmaker to create each and every shot like a painting, the way greats like Satyajit Ray and, in present times, Sanjay Leela Bhansali have done.
Why have you stayed away from the big screen for quite some time?
Unavoidable circumstances… The tragic death of my producers, like Gulshan Kumar, Nari Hira, and Dheeraj Kumar, adversely affected my career graph. Despite ups and downs, I have always tried to keep myself busy by being in touch with creativity, whether it is painting, sketching, cartoons, designing publicity posters, journalism, writing scripts, books, teaching, or doing production for foreign film crews. For me, no work is petty. In anything I have done, I have always looked for perfection and ‘wow’ results.
You trained at FTII for films. Where did you train for painting?
Painting has been God gifted. I’m totally self-taught. I can consider Superman, Batman, and army soldiers as my art gurus. I’m obsessed with these superheroes; I used to sketch and paint them all the time on my school notebooks and walls. I draw anything I see. I can even paint with bare fingers, both portraits and landscapes. In Delhi during the 60s and 70s, my parents were very strict with giving pocket money, but never shied away from giving me 100 rupees to buy colours and canvas. I am grateful to my parents for the timely encouragement to paint. During my college days, I painted canvases for my dad’s friends from his American Embassy circle. In Mumbai, during my struggle, I survived by designing film posters, illustrating magazines, and regularly drawing two pages for Balasaheb Thackeray’s cartoon magazines. And now my children are inspiring me to revive my good old talent as a painter, which I find extremely useful, both mentally and physically, as one ages.
Your paintings have bold strokes and defined colours. Can you please help me understand?
It is important to have clarity in whatever you imagine and paint. It has to catch the viewer’s attention with correct, matching colour combinations. For that, brushstrokes are important - when and how to apply them. Especially when one paints with watercolours, each stroke is most decisive. I find oil easy. Colours are meaningful and can convey the right emotions. As I use oil, acrylic, pastels, water, and crayons, the pattern of applying them is always different, and one should be innovative. Experimenting always enhances creativity and helps convey your theme and message.
