Pratik Gandhi on the most rigorous thing he has done for a role: ‘In a first, I went beyond 95 kilos… didn’t know how body would react’

Q: How would you picture your travel earlier and aft Scam 1992?

Pratik Gandhi: Firstly, it feels large erstwhile radical admit I’ve been portion of the manufacture for truthful galore years, due to the fact that the experimental enactment I utilized to bash successful Gujarati theatre, successful 2004 oregon 2008, is besides being included. Then, adjacent Gujarati theatre awards didn’t see america a portion of the scene. So, from those beginnings to present being portion of a ample industry, successful immoderate tiny capacity, feels great. Scam wholly changed my career, and enactment maine connected nationalist and planetary platforms. There’s much enthusiasm and involvement successful the eyes of makers to enactment with me. That was the dream: to beryllium successful the minds of writers and directors erstwhile they conceive immoderate script. I wanted to beryllium their archetypal choice.

Q: Did it ever get frustrating to beryllium determination but not recognised for your talent?

Pratik Gandhi: It ne'er frustrated me. Unlike different professions, there’s nary warrant successful this field. I ever knew that nary 1 other would marque oregon interruption my career—I had to bash it myself. I saw rejection and conflict arsenic portion of the game, and embraced it arsenic an artist’s mundane reality.

This mightiness dependable bookish, but commercialized occurrence lone guarantees your adjacent task lone arsenic agelong arsenic your films support performing. Once they don’t, that warrant disappears. I travel from a antithetic experience—none of my plays were commercially successful, but they’re inactive running, immoderate for implicit 15 years. To me, that is success. Before Scam, we ne'er had afloat houses for my plays. If we filled 50-60 per cent of the seats, we utilized to celebrate.

Pratik Gandhi performing Mohan’s Masala, a 1 enactment play connected Mahatma Gandhi, astatine Tata Theatre, NCPA successful 2021. (Photo by Narendra Dangiya)

Q: You’ve been doing plays for truthful long. In what ways has theatre successful India evolved? Which cities are astir invested successful the arts?

Pratik Gandhi: I’ve performed successful Hindi, English, and Gujarati crossed galore cities, including tier II and III. My hometown, Surat, has a vibrant theatre scene, with astir 15-18 progressive groups participating successful an yearly contention hosted by the Surat Municipal Corporation, present successful its 50th year. Other cities similar Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Delhi, and Kolkata besides person beardown theatre cultures. Unfortunately, theatre is inactive seen arsenic a “poor” medium, but this cognition needs to change. Theatre is incredibly affluent successful the stories it tells. With the emergence of integer platforms similar OTT and podcasts, theatre faces challenges, but I judge radical volition soon crave unrecorded performances again, and that volition marque theatre much exclusive and valuable.

Q: When did your travel with theatre begin?

Pratik Gandhi: It started erstwhile I was successful the 4th standard, during an inter-class competition; that’s erstwhile I felt that was magic. It was a tiny assembly country connected the 2nd level and I performed a seven-minute skit I wrote myself. I was amazed that thing successful my caput really made radical laugh. That infinitesimal of magic stayed with me.

Q: Is that erstwhile you decided to go an actor?

Pratik Gandhi: At that age, I didn’t adjacent cognize acting was a profession. I conscionable loved being connected stage, creating characters, and telling stories. I participated successful everything I could—whether it was a section contention oregon a fancy formal event—I conscionable wanted to beryllium connected stage.

Q: Over the years, you’ve done films, TV, OTT, and theatre. Which mean brings retired the champion and worst successful you arsenic an actor?

Pratik Gandhi: Each mean has its ain challenges, which keeps things breathtaking for me. After years successful theatre, I find the different mediums a spot easier to navigate. The biggest accommodation was getting utilized to non-linear shooting successful beforehand of the camera. On stage, I’m utilized to continuous, unrecorded emotions, whereas connected camera, scenes are often filmed retired of order. It took time, but I’ve learned to adapt, and present I bask switching betwixt these antithetic formats.

Q: Tell america astir the young Mahatma, and what drew you to this role.

Pratik Gandhi: Manoj Shah and I person worked unneurotic for 16 years, and during meal 1 night, I suggested we research a monologue successful English astir the lesser-known beingness of young Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. I realised that we ever representation the older, iconic Gandhi, but what astir the young Mohan who came from a tiny colony with antithetic dreams? He wasn’t calved with ideas of Ahimsa and Satyagraha—how did those evolve? That’s what intrigued me, and we began researching his aboriginal life.

Q: Tell america astir the originative process and the acquisition of playing young Mahatma.

Pratik Gandhi: We learned that Gandhi was incredibly flawed aboriginal successful life, and made galore mistakes. I person ne'er read, seen, oregon heard astir a idiosyncratic who committed truthful galore mistakes successful his beingness and past wrote astir them to beryllium made disposable successful the nationalist domain! That honesty makes him India’s archetypal “superhero”.

The situation was to amusement his improvement from a young, flawed idiosyncratic to a planetary icon. I could subordinate to Gandhi’s experience of being humiliated—when I archetypal came to Mumbai, idiosyncratic slapped maine connected a section train, and I froze, conscionable similar Gandhi did erstwhile helium was thrown disconnected the train. The much we researched, the much we recovered retired astir him, including that helium besides attempted termination with his friends astatine a young property – thing we ne'er studied.

Bringing that vulnerability to the signifier was key. Another situation was portraying a young Mohan astatine antithetic ages—from property six to 16—while I was 35. It required a batch of physicality to marque it believable.

Another absorbing happening we recovered during probe was that portion determination are truthful galore audio clips of Gandhi Ji, determination is nary of him talking successful Gujarati. He had a beardown Kathiyawadi accent, since helium is from Porbandar. So, the play has maine talking successful the language, which has a precise saccharine flavour and curt humour. And erstwhile I did the aforesaid play successful 3 antithetic languages successful 1 day, I understood the quality betwixt the grammar of the show of each connection – the English mentation is precisely 90 minutes, the Gujarati 1 goes beyond 100.

Pratik Gandhi plays a young Mahatma Gandhi successful Mohan No Masalo. (PR handout)

Q: What went into preparing for specified a unsocial role, and however bash you attack characters connected surface versus connected stage?

Pratik Gandhi: In my understanding, theatre is the epitome of the make-believe satellite due to the fact that connected stage, beyond basal acceptable pieces, it’s up to the histrion to make the satellite for the audience, utilizing performance, light, and sound. On screen, everything is much literal, and the situation is already created. I’ve been performing this play since 2015, adjacent portion looking antithetic for assorted films I was shooting. I person played Mohan with agelong hair, a beard, without a mustache – and it has worked each time. It taught maine that if I tin seizure the assemblage successful the archetypal 30 seconds, I tin instrumentality them anywhere.

Q: What’s the astir rigorous happening you’ve done for a role? Where bash you gully the line?

Pratik Gandhi: For Scam, I gained astir 20 kgs. For the archetypal clip successful my life, my weighing standard went beyond 95, and I was frightened due to the fact that I didn’t cognize however the assemblage would respond and however overmuch it would harm internally. So, I did it gradually and stayed cautious. More recently, I had to suffer value to play Gandhi for a series, and that required strict dieting and avoiding musculus gain. It affected my body, and I mislaid musculus mass, peculiarly successful my hamstrings, causing genu issues. For different role, I was asked to make a six-pack, but I refused to usage supplements. I similar to enactment much effort into creating a quality with dialogue, emotions, and assemblage connection alternatively implicit carnal transformation.

Q: Is this the astir challenging happening astir being an actor?

Pratik Gandhi: It is 1 of the astir challenging things, for sure. One has to beryllium precise cautious astir carnal and intelligence well-being. It’s not lone physical; mentally, you are besides going done a batch of emotions. Creating emotions connected surface tin instrumentality a toll due to the fact that the assemblage doesn’t differentiate betwixt existent and acted emotions. Actors request to cognize however to meditate, reset, travel to crushed zero, power their emotions and play it safe.

Vidya Balan and Pratik Gandhi precocious starred successful the romanticist drama Do Aur Do Pyaar. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)

Q: Being an histrion comes with galore rejections; however bash you woody with them and prioritize intelligence well-being?

Pratik Gandhi: I don’t wage attraction to each the other sound around, beryllium it societal media oregon thing other that is not required for maine to make a character. I americium excessively attached to my storytelling and characters, and they request my attraction much than thing else. Having said that, successful today’s time, you person to beryllium seen determination and beryllium a portion of it to beryllium successful the cardinal business. But it’s important to not get emotionally attached to it. I ever springiness doctors instances to myself, similar however a doc goes done an affectional turmoil and ideate the benignant of accent they spot astir them each day.

Q: Do you deliberation not being progressive connected societal media and not maintaining a debased illustration oregon not getting papped volition instrumentality distant from you arsenic an actor?

Pratik Gandhi: I usage societal media for promotions but not for idiosyncratic content. I’m not comfy with getting “papped” either. I similar maintaining immoderate enigma for the assemblage to research erstwhile they spot maine connected surface oregon stage. If they already cognize that my broadside illustration looks a definite way, my grin looks similar this, and erstwhile I’m angry, I look similar this past what is determination to research anymore? It keeps the constituent of astonishment live for makers and directors too. They volition beryllium capable to research a caller mentation of maine each time.

Q: You worked with a batch of actors, including Vidya Balan. How was the experience?

Pratik Gandhi: My archetypal Bollywood acquisition was with Jackie Shroff successful the Gujarati movie Ventilator. He was truthful earthy and down-to-earth, which made everyone comfy connected set. It is important learning that you don’t deterioration your personage stature each time. When we are creating a communicative oregon a film, we enactment successful a associated effort; it’s similar validation that you tin beryllium mean and inactive work.

Vidya is decidedly 1 of the astir beauteous radical to enactment with. She is truthful comfy off-screen oregon on-screen, and her laughter is contagious. When she starts laughing, it’s hard to clasp back. I person learnt a batch of things from her. She generously gives recognition to people. She’s ne'er bothered astir societal media, I’m sure, due to the fact that she has passed those stages, and she’s precise comfy with thing that happens astir her.

Q: Without reasoning – theatre oregon films, and why?

Pratik Gandhi: Always theatre due to the fact that that’s wherever I started and that’s wherever I consciousness live and real.