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Little luck, lots of pluck
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Veteran theatre and TV actor Sudhir Pandey speaks from his heart
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Ready to be challenged Sudhir Pandey in “Mera Sasural”
There have been many victims of Bollywood formula who have found sustenance in television. One of them is Sudhir Pandey. Son of legendary radio figure Devki Nandan Pandey, Sudhir is now seen in a central role in Sahara One’s Mera Sasural. “I always wanted to be an actor and started with theatre. My father, who also had similar dreams during his youth, could not pursue this profession because of family compulsions. He understood my feelings but warned me of the risks involved. As I was the only son he relented but asked to get proper training. I joined Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in 1974. There I realised that acting can’t be mastered in a lifetime. You learn on the job,” says Sudhir, whose batch mates include the likes of Om Puri, Suresh Oberoi, Satish Shah, Rakesh Bedi and Dilip Dhawan.
“Those were the times when heroes and heroines ruled and actors got to play father or brother. Om was fortunate that he got a tailor-made role in Ardha Satya. I am still looking for a challenge,” laments Sudhir. He got an important role in Dulal Guha’s Dhuan which starred Mithun Chakraborty but it flopped and Sudhir was marked unlucky.
“Self publicity and luck play great role in this industry and I am weak on both the counts. Acting is such a profession where you need somebody to back your talent and put money on you.”
Creative outlet
Financial necessity forced him to do bit roles. “Here theatre saved me otherwise I would have gone into depression. It provided me a creative outlet. I met the likes of Kaifi Azmi, M.S. Sathyu and A.K. Hangal and it reinforced my confidence that there is space for me beyond the formula. In the meantime, I did small roles in Shaan and Shakti. Ramesh Sippy liked my work and offered me Gaindalal’s role in Buniyaad
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It opened new vistas for Sudhir but his screen age took a leap. “I hardly ever got to play a young man after that. It gets repetitive at times but I am in such a business that if I sit out for six months nobody would come to ask me why are you not acting?”
Talking about his role in Mera Sasural, Sudhir says, “I play the head of the family who becomes a devotional singer because of the circumstances. He sings all his life in temples and gradually becomes a sought after singer. He gives so many performances that his voice gives way. His family dissuades him from singing but he says: ‘I started because of necessity, now when I have everything I want to sing out of devotion’.”
Sudhir continues to enjoy theatre. “I am working with Makrand Deshpande and Manav Kaul.” Despite films like Mathrubhoomi, Haasil and Anwar to his credit, Sudhir is frank enough to admit he has not done any memorable role in films. “My memorable roles are in plays like Kasturi, Ek Aur Dronacharya, Devvanar Hanuman and Motiram Ka Satyagraha and serials like Wah Janab, Amanat and Manoranjan.”
ANUJ KUMAR
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
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Visakhapatnam
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