Sumedh Mudgalkar recalls the fear post his severe nose injury: Everything was falling apart after that

Hindustan Times

11-06-2025

Sumedh Mudgalkar became a household name after his role as Lord Krishna in the TV show Radhakrishn. However, it took the actor a while to break that image and diversify himself, and he recently appeared as a dancer in the web series Hai Junoon. While Sumedh Mudgalkar admits to the challenge of being boxed after playing a divine character, he is happy to be in that space.
Ask him about the difficulty in changing the audience's perspective into accepting him in a different role and he says, 'I do not think about how the audience perceives me as that is not in my hand. The more I think about that, it disappoints me and stresses me out. The most important factor is what I think about myself, so I try to understand my strengths and what I lack.'
He adds, 'I did get a lot of offers in the similar genre [after Radhakrishn], but I had to say no, and it cost me a little bit. I loved playing Krishna, but I know that I am an actor, and my work is to do justice to the role given to me, be it of a God or a gangster. But I started my career with negative roles, so there was a battle going on if people would embrace me in such a positive character [of Krishna] too. So, if you do your work honestly, the audience connects with you.'
Hai Junoon also came after a massive accident that Sumedh had during a shoot that caused a serious nose fracture in November last year. Recalling that incident, he shares, 'Everything was falling apart at that moment. First of all, when you can't breathe as your nose is completely blocked and you only have your mouth open, it's difficult. You can't eat or drink properly. So, at that time, I became quite stressed. At one point, I thought, it's now all done for me. I had also considered that if the nose is permanently deformed, I would have to get surgery done, and I didn't want that.'
But it was the people around him who boosted his morale. 'When something happens to you, the people close to you start worrying for you and usse aapka tension kam ho jata hai. So, I had such people who took care of me and created a positive space around me,' he says.
For actors, their face is a huge part of their work. Did at any point the fear crept in him that what might happen for him as an actor next? 'We all have insecurities. I also dealt with it for a long time with my height. I did think I will be tall enough one day, but I didn't. I thought I should at least be 6 feet, but I learnt to accept the reality, and it encouraged me to work even harder. I told myself that if I don't have height, I should work on my skills to make myself better. Here too, the recovery was slow, but eventually I realised it's all going to be okay,' he responds.