Marathi mulga goes places

Ashutosh Kulkarni

You can gauge he has a background in theatre from the fact that every time his attire changes, there is a shift in his personality. On meeting Ashutosh Kulkarni, who came across as a carefree person, it was initially difficult to imagine him playing Krishan Bihari Vajpayee, father of late Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in the new show, Atal. That notion was turned on its head when we first saw him in full costume and make-up. His demeanour and body language also changed with his attire. "Before joining the Marathi industry, I always harboured a dream to be part of Hindi content," said the actor, who has been acting for 12 years and has done over 15 shows. In fact, Kulkarni began his acting career with JD Majethia and Aatish Kapadia's Bure Bhi Hum Bhale Bhi Hum, which barely ran for four months. "After my first show in Marathi, which was a mega hit, I kept doing one show after another. My shows have transformed me as a person and as an actor. I am so grateful for the opportunities that have come my way, but that dream has always existed. I even took training to get rid of the twang in my Hindi dialect," he said.

On playing Krishan Bihari Vajpayee, Kulkarni says that it was a challenge because not much is known about him or his contributions to the world. He gauged everything from the narration he received. He says, "The credit actually goes to Amitabh Raina [EVP Programming, &TV], who connected with me and shared his vision for the character. I feel I am just carrying his vision forward. Credit also belongs to the writer of the show, [Shanti Bhushan], the director, and the production team for sketching the character in as much detail as possible. From the discussions, we concluded that Atalji must have learnt something from his father, although he is heavily influenced by his mother. But some things are in the genes. His views, body language, and demeanour were imbibed from his father, at least a bit. So, it was a reverse influence - going by Atal's behaviour, we sketched out what Krishan Bihari Vajpayee was probably like. Krishan Bihari Vajpayee also had conflicts with his own father. We've tried to establish his character through father-son relationships. He was a poet and teacher, and then he went on to be the headmaster. While he worked for the British, somewhere in his mind, he also wanted to be free from their clutches."

As the story of Atal begins in childhood, there is a lot of ground to cover. At present, Kulkarni says he is learning a lot from child actor Vyom Thakker, who plays the young Atal in the show. "His energy and innocence sometimes make us think. On the other hand, we get carried away while shooting, and then stop to realise that he is just a child. So, we slow down and wait for him. That makes two sides of working with children," shared the actor.