Pratik Gandhi Overwhelmed With 'Scam' Success, Says Harshad Mehta Is Almost A New Birth For Me

Some actors' struggle leave a mark on you and such is Pratik Gandhi¡¯s cinematic journey. Right now, anyone who is following OTT shows is talking about him and he rightly deserves it. The man aced his role as Harshad Mehta in Hansal Mehta¡¯s web series Scam 1992- The Harshad Mehta Story.

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Indiatimes decided to talk to him and know about his journey. His story is a ray of hope for every aspiring actor who dream to be recognised one day.

I think my regional and theatre work helped me to reach here

To begin with, we asked Pratik Gandhi, how did he manage to impress Hansal Mehta to bag a role as Harshad Mehta, ¡°I think my regional and theatre work helped me to reach here. Hansal Mehta sir has watched Gujarati films and he likes me. So when I auditioned at Mukesh Chhabra¡¯s office, I was sure that being a Gujarati will help me bag this role, so that worked for me. Also, Hansal sir knew my theatre stints and was aware of my work.¡±

Harshad Mehta is almost a new birth for me, the way people have responded to it, so much of love around, all the appreciation for my character is still unreal

When asked about how people are convinced he is really Harshad Mehta as his performance is par excellence, and he says, ¡°It¡¯s an overwhelming feeling for me. This is my first big project, a lot of people have noticed me, But I was around for 15 years doing my bit. I have worked in Mumbai theaters for 15 to 20 years now. And my first Gujarati film came in 2013, so Harshad Mehta is almost a new birth for me, the way people have responded to it, so much of love around, all the appreciation for my character is still unreal. I am still digesting the fact that this is happening with me for real.¡±

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When asked if the struggle broke a hope in him, he negated, ¡° Not really because, I will tell you why I came to Bombay in 2004 from Surat that¡¯s my hometown. In the beginning I gained my theatre experiences, and also did a job in corporate work for 12 to 15 years.

I have done engineering and worked in the same field and along with that I kept doing my experiments in theaters and Gujarati cinema,

Not many are aware but Pratik has done engineering and pursued a job in the same field, ¡°From 2004 till 2016 I have done that. In 2016, I did my second film Wrong Side Raju which won a National Award, and then I started getting opportunities, from theaters and Gujarati films as well, but I couldn¡¯t do that frequently so I couldn¡¯t get many leaves from my job, so I did one film in two years. I used to accumulate all the leaves, so I used 20 leaves one at a time. I was on the hope that someday something big will come and then I lost my job.

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He further added, ¡° Then I had to decide that either I be in this world or that world. Because initially when I came. my fight was to get a house in Mumbai. (Bombay mai ghar hona bahut badi baat hai, 12 saal laga muje sirf ek ghar kharidne mai).

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Filmmakers are very open to experiments now, that¡¯s why I got this part otherwise I am sure faces which sell, they would go for them

When asked if ever he will return to his job if things don¡¯t work in the industry, he strongly said, ¡°No. Because I have done that for almost 16 years and right now I am doing a lot of things, from theatre, doing plays and even directing it. Also, today's web world is a very interesting space because there is no formula that is driving it. Even filmmakers are very open to experimenting and that¡¯s why I got this part otherwise I am sure faces which sell they would go for them, why would they go for me? Actors are getting to work, so I am open to cinema and web series.¡±

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He even added he will not typecast himself and will explore all kinds of genres, characters, and languages as that satisfies him as an actor.

Talking about the compliments he has been receiving from the industry, Pratik said, "The best compliment I have received is from Hansal sir, he calls me and says we are almost ready and I asked sir have I been able to do justice, he didn¡¯t say much, but he said, ¡°You have out done yourself¡±. Also, Shabana Azmi called me and praised me, She said 'I have not seen this kind of performance in 30 years', being the legendary herself was a huge compliment for me.¡±

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Indeed the man has come long way and stolen the show!

Illustration by: Ranak Mann