Pratik Gandhi: I’m taken more seriously as a lead actor after Scam 1992

Since the success of Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story, Pratik Gandhi has arguably become one of the most popular actors from Gujarat. The SonyLiv webseries, by his own confession, took him to great heights, not just in Gujarati cinema but also Bollywood.

For his latest series Vitthal Teedi, which released on the OTT platform OHO Gujarati on May 7, the actor reunited with Bey Yaar director Abhishek Jain. In an exclusive interview with OTTplay, Pratik talks about his struggles before becoming an actor and how, after years of toil, he is finally getting back-to-back interesting projects.

How has life changed after Scam 1992?

I'm taken more seriously as the lead actor. Now, I've been approached for Hindi films, web series and some interesting regional cinema also. So, Scam 1992 opened up new opportunities for me. I'm really excited and looking forward to more.

When the show released, it was your sixth year in cinema. Did you expect to become a national star in such a short span of time?

I moved to Mumbai from Surat in 2004 and since then, I have been trying to find my space on the small screen, films and regional setup too. I kept working on a lot of projects and completed almost 17 years in theatre. But I never imagined that Scam 1992 would put me on a national or international map the way it did. It feels satisfying that after so many years of learning and experimenting, I could reach here and get interesting work.

Your first Gujarati film Bey Yaar was also with Abhishek. Did collaborating again bring back memories?

For sure. Working with Abhishek has been a lot of fun. We have been talking to each other about collaborating for a long time. At least after seven years, we are working together. It's almost like meeting your old friend from college. We have grown in our respective areas, in the past seven years. Vitthal Teedi is an interesting collaboration. He's a very passionate guy. He breathes cinema and his passion is very contagious, which is what I like about him the most.

Even though Bey Yaar was a superhit, you took a break from Gujarati films for two years. Any reason?

I was working in Bey Yaar while simultaneously doing full-time jobs. That job had a lot of responsibility. At that time, I took 20 days leave and shot the film. Immediately after that, I was offered quite a few films. There were two reasons for taking the break - I was not kicked about the scripts, and it wasn't possible for me to get frequent leaves. After two years, (writer-director) Mikhil Musale and (producer) Abhishek offered me Wrong Side Raju, which was a very exciting project for me. I could apply for leaves again, so I took 25 days off and shot the film.

You have explored English, Hindi and Gujarati cinema. Any plans to work in other languages too?

Yes, absolutely. I have worked in multiple languages on stage. I've learnt that every language has a different grammar when it comes to performance. I also love to challenge myself with these things and learn nuances of different regions and languages. I'm exploring and experimenting. We shall announce soon that I'll also be doing other regional cinema.

What other projects do you have in hand?

My hands are full for the next couple of years with different projects in Bollywood, Gujarati cinema and web series.