Pratik Gandhi: ‘If they went by formula, I wouldn’t have been cast’

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New place, new food and new energy being discovered by a group of familiar people - that is how Pratik Gandhi describes his stay in the UK, when we get on a call with him. Over the past two months, the actor and filmmaker Hansal Mehta have been shooting Gandhi in the UK. Based on historian Ramachandra Guha's books Gandhi Before India and Gandhi: The Years That Changed The World, the biographical drama chronicles the life of Mahatma Gandhi and unravels the complex man behind the renowned leader.

Pratik Gandhi shot to fame with Hansal Mehta's Scam 1992

For Pratik, a web series on the Mahatma is a natural graduation after he led the play, Mohan No Masalo, for 10 years. Can he be objective after a decade of portraying the leader on stage? "I have objectivity about Gandhi. His lines stay with me. Many lines from the play have become a part of my day-to-day life. What's most interesting for me is his life approach and simplicity. At a time when minimalism is a thing, Gandhi's approach to minimalism is a learning I try to live by. His simplicity has had an impact on my life," says the actor.

That one of his favourite directors is at the helm only adds to the joy. It was, after all, Mehta's Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story (2020) that made Pratik an overnight star. The duo set the bar high with the series' breakthrough success. Is it then daunting to reunite with him? "I don't take pressure, and thankfully, Hansal sir doesn't either. When we did Scam, no one knew the formula of success. If they went by traditional formula, I wouldn't have been cast. I didn't fit in any metric or formula. What worked for us then was being honest to our story. That has become our way - to create characters and tell stories in the truest way possible.
I don't see Hansal sir a changed man, his approach remains the same. He takes it easy. I love the fact that our set is never stressed out." This is his third outing with Mehta after Scam 1992 and Modern Love Mumbai (2022), and the actor says they work hard and chill harder. "Every day post shoot, Hansal sir, Pratham [Mehta, DoP] and I look for places to eat around. We work, then grab a good meal and enjoy ourselves a bit. This is what makes our work better."