Pratik Gandhi is surprised why there hasn’t been a film on Phule yet: ‘Every social evil he fought against is still there’

That’s the first question I asked my director when he offered me the role. He joked that a film on Phule hasn’t been made because we were supposed to make it. Every social evil he fought back then is still there, in one or the other form. So something which is so relevant, nobody thought about it. I don’t know who can answer this question. I just feel fortunate enough that I could do it.

With no reference point in Hindi cinema, how did you get into Phule’s shoes?

My biggest reference point was a detailed, well-researched script. The reforms Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule have done are so huge that it’s difficult to pin them down to 2 hours and 20 minutes. So one must read and research everything before compressing the character’s life. That job was already done by Ananth Mahadevan and his co-writers. It gave me a complete idea of the world. Apart from that, I wanted to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes in pronouncing Marathi. I also spoke to a lot of people who knew about his traits and qualities. That’s how I went beyond the script with my performance.

Do you think why Hindi cinema hasn’t had a film on the Phules is because unlike Marathi cinema, it shies away from depiction of caste?

No, I think films have been made on this issue, in the black-and-white era and even after that. But off late, I think after the 1980s, cinema changed. We moved towards a more limited definition of entertainment. That must be a reason why people didn’t touch this topic or it was forgotten easily.

Do you think post the 1980s, we’ve also stopped going into the interiors of India? Like the late Manoj Kumar did. You did Dedh Bhiga Zameen last year and Phule now. Why do we lack representation of those sections of India?

Our stories should come from our society. The best part of India is that we have diverse cultures, so many of them, in terms of regions, religions, and languages. We should have representation from all walks of life. From ’80s onwards, cinema became more of aspirational storytelling. I met a lot of people then who said, “Ye sab toh roz marra mein hota hi hai. Issey badhkar cinema mein kuchh dekhna hai” (This happens anyway in our daily lives. We want to see something that’s far ahead in our cinema). They want to forget their struggles and have fun. But I also believe there should be some kind of representation of these people and their struggles.

Since you were a prominent Gujarati star and was introduced to the Hindi audience as another Gujarati character, Harshad Mehta, with Scam 1992, was it tough to break out of that mould and play say, a Bengali character in Do Aur Do Pyaar and a Marathi character in Agni and Phule?

For anyone coming from regional cinema, they’ll be initially cast only in that kind of a role. So many good Bengali actors today are being offered only Bengali roles. Similarly, it happened to me too. It happens until someone shows enough faith to give you the opportunity to break out of it. Even though Harshad Mehta was a Gujarati character, Scam 1992 was equal to four films. So that helped people realise that I can do the full range of emotions and play different kinds of parts.

You managed to bring a ray of sunshine to even a scamster like Harshad Mehta. Do you feel it’s also your job to show the chinks in the armour of a Mahatma like Jyotirao Phule?

I don’t judge my characters. If I do that while performing, I’ll colour them. You have to see it as just a character. My job as an actor is to make the character human, as in his logic and psychology should be completely clear in my mind. If I’m playing a serial killer, I have to be a serial killer in my mind. Anybody who’s doing something that’s largely perceived as something negative, they’re convinced why they’re doing it. If I play a serial killer with my morality, then it’ll never work. So even when I’m playing a character like Phule, I don’t have to treat him like a superstar right from the start. I just have to live his life. There’s already a journey. I just have to show that journey.

Since you also play Mahatma Gandhi in Hansal Mehta’s upcoming show, what similarities and differences have you observed in them, since they both opposed caste discrimination, thought in different eras?

They’re both Mahatmas and fought crucial fights. Both of them had a lot of inner strength. They never thought about their own safety or their families. They had the courage to ask ‘Why?’ They both talked and walked non-violence. There’s a dialogue in Phule, where he says that those who think we can fight the British with weapons are wrong, we can only fight them with education. Without emphasizing on non-violence, he actually practised it. I just felt like Gandhi is a reincarnation of the same soul. The difference, as per my limited knowledge and understanding, was the difference in context. Jyotirao had more of a fight within, before he started fighting against society. He was not against the Britishers. He believed that first, let’s get our homes right.

We haven’t seen too many depictions of Phule, but we’ve seen quite a few of Gandhi. So how did you make Gandhi your own?

I haven’t tried to see Gandhi from whatever has already been depicted. I haven’t followed anyone’s style. I just stuck to the script primarily and tried to create Gandhi in the most possible organic way. Gandhi was a common man who had no clue how he’s going to do what he’s going to do. He was just exploring himself through his ideas. At least, that’s how I’ve approached it.

You keep sliding in these comedies, like Madgaon Express and Dhoom Dhaam, between these serious roles. Does comedy liberate you?

I personally love doing comedy. It’s a fun genre, but a very difficult one at that. So I keep testing myself whether I can still match the timing. Comedy doesn’t need as much research and prep work as it does practice, discipline, sincerity, and experience. It’s also good to surprise the audience once in a while. That way, they can’t put you in a bracket. Whenever they’ve gotten over a comedy, you throw another one at them.

Jyotirao Phule educated his wife Savitribai at a time when women’s education was a taboo. How did you build that gentle romance with Patralekhaa, who plays Savitribai in Phule?

That was a very fascinating thing we’d learnt about that couple. The definition of love was much broader for them. Jyotirao wanted his wife to get educated and think beyond certain norms. He wanted to liberate his wife in a social environment where female education and freedom weren’t even thought about. There’s a sense of respect between them. That comes through only when we respect each other as actors. So that it brings a lived-in sense of comfort to our romance.

Also Read: ‘Phule’ depicts a brutal truth of our past. We cannot sweep it away

There aren’t too many male actors who take the back seat or have the female lead take equal footing in films. But you’ve done it with Do Aur Do Pyaar (Vidya Balan), Dhoom Dhaam (Yami Gautam), and now, Phule. What makes you so comfortable with this idea?

First of all, I don’t see it in that way. Whether it’s a ‘strong’ female character or a ‘strong’ male character. I see it purely in terms of the merit of the script, whether it works for me, if it engages me, and if there’s enough meat for me to put into the script. For all the films you mentioned, I never looked at it from that angle. If the script works, even the smallest character works for me. But if the script doesn’t work, nothing does. Merely a comparison whose screentime is more or whose character is stronger doesn’t make sense because it’ll kill the film.

Phule is slated to release in cinemas this Friday on April 25.