Pratik Gandhi: We keep saying art has no barriers; the audience just proved it

Time of India

a day ago

Apart from getting the country vibing to a banger opening theme, Hansal Mehta's
Scam 1992
also gave the audience an actor to look forward to –
Pratik Gandhi
. With a body of work that spans Gujarati films, Hindi plays, OTT shows and movies, Pratik has become a name to reckon with, more so in the last two years with projects like
Do Aur Do
Pyaar
,
Agni
,
Madgaon Express
,
Dhoom Dhaam
and
Phule
. In a chat with us, the actor speaks about his love for theatre, his takeaway from the Phule controversy and why the struggle of Bollywood films is more complex than it looks. Excerpts:
'No film institute can give you what theatre does'
'Theatre is an actor's gym,' says Pratik, who was in the city to stage
Mohan Ka Masala
, in which he played the role of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
'It is a place where you can work on different prototypes. When you perform in a play, you go through the same story and emotions multiple times. I live that character more than once and it gives me the chance to rehearse my craft,' says the actor. Highlighting that tools and theoretical knowledge are of no use if you can't implement them, Pratik adds, 'Film institutes can teach you about the tools you can use as an actor, or about the theory part of the profession, but theatre gives you a platform to implement that knowledge practically.
That's something no other place can give you.'
'The audience has evolved multifold; makers are taking time'
Bollywood has been trying to figure out what really clicks with the audience post the pandemic. While experts try to decipher that, Pratik shares a different take on why the industry is struggling. 'It's a very complex thing. You can't look at the problem from just one lens – of content, marketing, etc,' says the actor, adding, 'I feel that for the longest time, filmmakers and the audience were evolving together, almost in sync with each other.
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But during the pandemic the exposure to global content happened and the audience suddenly evolved multifold. Makers, on the other hand, could not evolve that fast and that created a huge gap which we are all trying to fill up. It's happening, but it will take some time.' Pratik also feels that the audience's evolution was unprecedented. 'Earlier, India was looked at as a less English-speaking market and makers would be told to dumb stories down.
Now, people are watching Korean and Spanish shows. Someone sitting in a remote area is watching an English show on their phone. This was something no one predicted. We keep saying art has no barriers. The audience just proved it.'
Another enemy everyone is fighting nowadays is the overuse of data in filmmaking. If you are creating a film or show on the basis of data interpretation, then you don't need human brains to work in this industry
Pratik Gandhi
'Nobody has the time to process anything today'
A few months ago,
Phule
, which featured Pratik and Patralekhaa as Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule, respectively, had a brush with controversy after certain groups opposed the film's release.
While the film did get a stamp of approval from critics and viewers after it released, Pratik says he wasn't surprised with what happened. 'The world has become impatient. We want to react and jump the gun before watching or understanding anything,' he says, adding, 'In the chaotic world of social media and hyperconnectivity, nobody has the time to process anything.
I keep giving this example to people that in the Doordarshan days, news anchors would read the news to you, without added emotion or a specific tone.
This was so you could interpret the news the way you wanted to, without being biased. Now, news is interpreted and given to you. You are not supposed to use your brain. Looking at everything, I was not surprised by the people's reaction to Phule. I faced the same issues during Bhavai (2021). What people think and what can offend them, that's something nobody can gauge.'
On the relevance of Phule and Gandhi in today's times...
Having played Mahatma Phule on screen and Mahatma Gandhi on stage, Pratik says that so many things from these legendary figures' lives are relevant even today.
'We hear about discrimination, wars and people justifying violence in different ways every day. These are things that these prominent figures in Indian history fought against. I think they were visionaries because they could visualise that the world would need guiding thoughts in difficult times even if they weren't around.
That makes them significant even today,' he says. Speaking about his play
Mohan Ka Masala
, Pratik adds, 'We tend to think that Gandhiji was born with qualities of a Mahatma but it's not like that.
He was a common man like any of us who made mistakes and learnt from them. The message you can take away from the play is that everyone has been given qualities to become a Mahatma. It is the choices you make that define your journey.'
Pratik Gandhi at Aga Khan Palace (Pic: Jignesh Mistry)
On six-pack abs and a possible Madgaon Express reunion
In his next OTT show, Saare Jahan Se Achha, Pratik plays a spy. Speaking about the same, he says, 'We've often seen spies as these super-special, heroic people who can do anything. That's not the case in real life and we have tried to show that with our next. Spies six-packs wale thodi hote hai!' On the topic of six-pack abs, we ask him about his shirtless act in
Dhoom Dhaam
and whether he would do it again. Pratik laughs and shares, 'I don't mind at all! I have always looked like that. Just that I had never taken my shirt off on screen before
Dhoom Dhaam
.' On a concluding note, we ask the actor if he and the team are open to a
Madgaon Express
sequel. To that, Pratik says, 'The whole team is super excited to do it again. We are all just waiting for Kunal (Kemmu) to come up with an idea. It was a crazy, mad film.'