In this interview with Outlook, Chinmay Mandlekar talks about playing powerful roles such as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Bitta, Nathuram Godse, and Sant Tukaram
Actor Chinmay Mandlekar, who was last seen as terrorist ‘Bitta’ in ‘The Kashmir Files’, is currently making headlines for playing the protagonist Nathuram Godse in the national award-winning filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi’s ‘Gandhi Godse: Ek Yudh’ released on January 26, 2023.
A graduate of the National School of Drama, Mandlekar comes with a strong theatre background and an experience of close to two decades across the Marathi and Hindi film industries. Today, he dons multiple hats as a writer, director, and producer along with acting. In this interview with Outlook, Chinmay Mandlekar talks about playing powerful roles such as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Bitta, Nathuram Godse, and Sant Tukaram among others along with his experience working in the industry.
Q. Your thoughts on completing two decades in the entertainment industry and your take on how the industry has evolved. How have you evolved as an actor and what work that you are proud of?
I passed out from the National School of Drama in 2003 and after that, I started working professionally as an actor. I started with Marathi daily soaps and then I transitioned to Marathi films. I did my first Hindi film in 2010, which was Tere Bin Laden, and have since been doing Hindi films at not very frequent intervals but regularly. These past twenty years it has been a very happy journey. I have worked with good people. I've worked with people who really knew their job and from whom I could learn a lot.
I've also seen the work ethic around me evolve. Technically as well, when I shot my first film, it was on celluloid. We were actually shooting a film. Now everything has gone very digital and there is a lot of technical finesse in the films. However, I think the spirit of or the passion for making films and the passion for cinema has not died.
In all this, we experienced the pandemic of COVID. And I thought really the world would change after that. While it did change to a certain extent when it comes to filmmaking, the passion has not gone. So that is a very happy space.
I've been proud of mostly all the work that I've done so it’s very difficult to single out one that I am particularly proud of. However, I would say I'm happier with the kind of work that I have done in the recent past. My role in Kashmir Files and my role in Gandhi Godse: Ek Yudh have been fulfilling experiences also in terms of the audiences that they have managed to reach.
2. Your experience working across the Marathi and Hindi film industries and what do you see as the similarities and differences between the two
The difference is mainly between the languages and the scale because when you're doing a Marathi film, the budgets are tighter. The number of days that you shoot is less. So there is less scope for the mistake and thus, more prep. There is more effort in getting it right on the first or second go.
In Hindi, the budgets are large, the scales are large, and you have a little bit more space in terms of trying out new things but the passion to make every minute count is more in the regional cinema or Marathi cinema, because the resources are limited. So, many times limited resource demands more from the actors, and then as actors you deliver better performances. So it's just a matter of scale and reach. I don't think there is any other difference.
3. Your comments on donning multiple avatars as actor, writer, stage director, and producer – how do you transition between these avatars
I have always enjoyed doing different things. I started as an actor then I started writing. Later, while I was doing stage, I started directing. Even when I was doing theater, I used to act, direct or do backstage work. It gives you a lot of learning experience and excitement. There are certain projects, you don't want to be associated with as an actor, but you want to be a part of that project in some other capacity. So that I still continue.
And in 2020 I and my partner Digpal Lanjekar I formed our production company called Mulakshar Productions and Mulakshar till now has produced two films in Marathi and three television shows. We are working on more. So that is another exciting element that keeps me going.
4. How you prepped to essay the role of Nathuram Godse
As part of the prep for Nathuram Godse’s role, mainly the script and the workshops with Mr. Rajkumar Santoshi helped. And then there were certain books, which we referred to as well. Nathuram Godse’s final deposition in the court, which is approximately a 30-minute speech that he gave in the court during his trial also helped a lot.
5. Your process as an actor and how he chooses his scripts and characters
I have always held this belief that an actor doesn't choose a role. The role chooses an actor. Like The Kashmir Files. the role came to me. I'm not a Kashmiri and I’ve not played a similar character in the past, but somehow the role came to me. In terms of the process, I’m largely a person who will depend on the script. That is my basic blueprint and also the director's. My process varies from project to project and from director to director. Certain directors give a lot of scope for improvisation. And certain directors have a chalked-out plan and everyone has to follow them. So, I adapt myself according to their process.
For me, my director is the captain of the project, so I simply follow what the director tells me. And lately, instead of looking at only what my role is, my focus is more on what the film is trying to say and how important is my role in that process. So screen time doesn't matter much, but the intensity or the depth of the role does.
6. The response garnered on his portrayal of Bitta Karate in The Kashmir Files
I was very happy with the response that I got. In terms of reach, I reached a much larger audience worldwide. Post-release, people often asked me if there was a lot of negative response towards my character and what was my reaction to that. However, they did not hate me, they hated the character. That is, if I may say, my biggest reward as an actor.
I was told that somewhere in north India, a woman took out a chappal and flung it on the screen when she saw me in the final scene. If I could ever get hold of that chappal. I would keep it in my house as my biggest award. Because what’s a better response than this?
But personally, as Chinmay Mandlekar I did not get any negative reaction or any flak for portraying Bitta. After seeing my performance my friends called me up saying please don’t meet us for next few days. But that was the compliment that they were giving to my performance. And I was very happy about it.
7. Your ongoing and upcoming projects
There is a film coming up with Maddock Entertainment, it’s called Happy Teachers Day. It will come in the latter part of this year and also a web show called Kaala Paani will come out in 2023 on Netflix. So, these are the two upcoming projects specifically in Hindi.