Film and TV star, Gavie Chahal, is among the lucky few actors to get to play diverse genres. After an impressive action avatar in the Salman Khan spy flick (Ek Tha Tiger), he is now donning the role of a mature and balanced father, in Star Bharat mytho, Radhakrishn.
“I play Krishna’s foster father, Nand, who is also the village headman. He is a very practical guy who does not follow traditions blindly (supports those couple’s marriages whose folks are against their union); and also knows where to draw the line as per social dictums. He is very impressed by the sheer knowledge and wisdom of young Krishna.”
Here he added, “It is not easy to be just a plain good guy, for you don’t know how to approach the character. In other genres like comedy, you get the support of body language and the audience also tends to connect with you more,” says Gavi, who had begun his TV stint with period drama, Mohe Rang, back in 2008.
When asked about the divine love between Radha and Krishna, he says, “While it is very tough to find such a couple today, given today’s social emphasis on the physical aspects of love, it is not impossible either.”
With the show quickly taking a leap, he has no issue with playing father to a 16 year old Krishna (Sumedh Mudgalkar). “This is how TV functions, but yes, I have not aged on screen.”
He is not worried that it will affect his image in action film, Torbaaaz. “Today, audiences are very smart and appreciate the difference between reel and real. And as actors, we should not restrict ourselves.”
“Balancing the Torbaaz (Sanjay Dutt) shoot, where I am playing an Afghani, to get into the skin of a Sanskrit speaking man the next day was indeed a challenge, but I was more than up to it. It really tested my hard work and presence of mind as an actor, as I could not allow one to intrude into the other.”
“It feels nice when the entire team’s efforts get rewarded with good numbers. Normally, STAR Bharat does not get good numbers, but here we were number three.”
In closing, Gavie says, “Parenting in today’s time is a challenge, especially if your daughter is growing up, for social norms prevent a healthy dialogue on several important issues. Ideally, I feel that, rather than cracking the whip on not going out late at night, fathers should themselves take the daughter to the disc, in order to make them understand why things can go wrong. Also, there should be a healthy dialogue on sex.”
