‘Your ‘Character’ is the most important thing to maintain the stardom’ – Govind Namdev

‘Your Character is the most important thing to maintain the stardom’ – Govind Namdev

Veteran actor Mr. Govind Namdev needs no introduction. He has been in the industry for more then 25 years and has impressed the audience with his versatile acting and characters. We got a chance to interact with him as his two films ‘Dassehra’ & ‘Kaashi in search of Ganga’ are lined up for release on 26th October 2018.

1. You started your career with the blockbuster film ‘Shola aur Shabnam’. So how challenging and exciting your journey has been ?

My Journey has been very exciting and challenging at the same time. As you know, in this industry, till the time you are not established, every step or milestone is quite a challenge. I was a student of NSD and did theatre for 11 years. I did not have to struggle much to be honest and got my first project, ‘Sardar Patel’ through Mr. Ketan Mehta and while doing  that, I got David Dhawan’s ‘Shola aur Sahbnam’.  ‘Sardar Patel’ took 4 years to complete, while ‘Shola aur Shabnam’ got completed in a year and that is how this film became my first break in Bollywood.

 2. You have worked with lot of renowned and established Theatre personalities and how it helped in Bollywood ?

I worked as an artist from 1978 to 1989 at National School of Drama and during this period had worked with many renowned national aas well as international theatre personalities including Barry John, Ibrahim, M. K. Raina and more. While working with these actors, my name got familiar in Mumbai film industry also. I came to Mumbai with lost of confidence and my theatre experience helped me in gaining that. Mr. Shekhar Kapoor helped me a lot and because of him, I got the film, ‘Premgranth’.

 3. You belong to a middle class family and now You are an established and successful actor. According to You what is important to keep maintaining the stardom ?

‘Character’, your character is the most important thing to maintain the stardom. It is very important to maintain a balance, as once you achieve stardom, you don’t know how to behave and remain  grounded. If You are not grounded, you tend to loose.

4. Which character appeals to you more – positive or negative ?

In earlier films, three characters use to be important- hero, heroine and villain. So, I liked to play a villain. Now, you have characters, which are important, as positive or negative. So I opt for positive characters, as I can portray various emotions as an actor. But, playing negative characters give me artistic satisfaction.

5. You have played different characters in every film. We have seen you portraying different characters in Bandit Queen, Satta, Oh My God and in many other films. How do you prepare yourself ?

I always try to do characters which one can relate and connect to. I observe people and learn from surroundings. Also, I read books and do lot of research for every character. In OMG! I did observe a saint in a village, which you can see in the film. In Bandit Queen, I formed a character, based on the provided information.  

 6. How the cinema has evolved ?

Cinema has evolved  a lot during this period. Earlier, it use to be stories, now audience likes to see inspiring stories of real people. Earlier it was formula films, involving hero, heroine and villain. Now Biopics are ruling mostly. Even, acting is natural now.

7. Any Biopic you would like to do ?

There are lot of characters in history, who had worked on a high level and also were negative in thoughts and actions. They were quite negative and cruel like ‘Hitler’. I would like to play Hitler in a biopic.

8. You have two films releasing on 26^th October 2018. Can You tell about them?

My two films are releasing on 26^th October- ‘Dassehra’ and ‘Kaashi in search of Ganga’.

‘Kaashi in search of Ganga’ is a suspense film, where my character is negative. The story is of a sister who    is lost and my son, who is a suspect, eventually gets killed. In ‘Dussehra’ also, am playing a negative cop, who is a Ravana in his ideologies. Greed is a human’s enemy and how one’s greed makes him loose everything. The story of Dussehra  has a message and also has a good story, which audience will like.

in a still from ‘Kaashi in search of Ganga’

9. Which are your upcoming projects ?

I have very positive character in ‘Rangeela Raja’ and then I have ‘Junction Varanasi’, where my character is of a doctor, who comes to a village and treats patients free of cost in the hope of doing good deeds, which shall treat his son, who is mentally challenged.  I have another film, ’Time Nahi Hai’, which is a contemporary take on modern lifestyle. Also, I am doing a film ‘Jhalki’ on child labour, where my character is negative. After that I have a murder mystery ’Coming Back Darling’, which has been shot in Switzerland and I am playing a positive cop, who unfolds the mystery. After that I have a film ‘The Gandhi Murder’, in which I am playing the character of Morarji Desai. I am quite excited about all my upcoming films.

Message for the Audience

10. What are your views on #MeToo movement ?

I think this is a good move for the present as well as future.. The movement is quite an achievement and shall bring lot of positive changes in the industry. Though there will be some misuse , but we can not deny the positives at the same time, which are the needs of the time.

11. Any message for the upcoming artists ?

Keep working on yourself and keep evaluating. Learn from the characters played by your idols, observe how they have put emotions in those characters. Train and improve yourself. Become eligible for struggle first and then you try your chances.