Actor Pratik Gandhi, who rose to national prominence with Hansal Mehta’s Scam: 1992, has opened up about his journey from being a theatre replacement artist to becoming one of the most sought-after names in Hindi cinema and streaming.
In a conversation with PTI, the 45-year-old actor recalled his dream of being “the first choice of the writers and directors since my (his) theater days.”
He shared how early in his career, he was rarely the first preference for roles. “In theatre, I was always the third option. Most of the time, I was called for replacements. So, whenever there are critical situations where somebody is ill, or not available, I was asked to replace and perform a couple of shows,” Gandhi said.
That trajectory shifted dramatically after the success of Scam: 1992. “I wanted to be the first name flashing in the director's mind whenever he thought about a character. That suddenly started happening after Scam,” he added.
“So, the last five years was a journey where people came to me with a lot of excitement and trust in their eyes, stating, 'Now, we want to work with you', and all of them have been varied genres and characters. I was happy, and I still say that I'm living the dream that I saw once,” he added.
The actor revealed that several recent projects were developed with him in mind. “In mainstream cinema, it started happening with Do Aur Do Pyaar, Madgaon Express, and Phule. Anant (Mahadevan, director) sir said that, 'I can see Phule in you. For Gandhi, Sameer Nair (producer) approached me and said, 'This is what we want to do with you, you are the first choice'. I can't thank the universe enough for this particular phase in my life,” Gandhi said.
Looking ahead, he expressed his desire to explore new genres. “Out-and-out action film” and “a good love story” are on his wish list.
Most recently, Gandhi starred in the spy thriller series Saare Jahan Se Accha, directed by Sumit Purohit and written by Bhavesh Mandalia and Gaurav Shukla. The series, which premiered on August 13, traces the rise of RAW and ISI in the aftermath of the 1971 Indo-Pak war. Produced by Bombay Fables, the show also features Sunny Hinduja, Suhail Nayyar, Kritika Kamra, Tillotama Shome, Rajat Kapoor, and Anup Soni.
Gandhi, who plays Indian spy Vishnu Shankar in the show, said the role fulfilled a long-cherished dream. “I had never played a character of an intelligence officer or a spy, that to a human, not a superhuman, who flies and kicks and jumps, there's a real spy who means business, and who is not operating on field, but on desk through his mind. So, that's the biggest tick-mark for me,” he said.
The actor credited the makers for crafting a realistic spy thriller devoid of excessive nationalism or over-the-top action. “The treatment of the story, free from jingoism and hyper-realism, made it easy for me to accept the role,” Gandhi added.
