Sachin Pilgaonkar (67) completes 60 years in films this year. The actor, director and producer started acting as a child at the age of five and went on to feature in over 65 films before starring in films like Sholay and Satte Pe Satta as a grown-up. The veteran actor says there’s much more to come and he has only reached the “interval stage” of his career.

Talking about his early days as a child artiste, Sachin fondly recalls, “I received the National Award for Best Child Artiste at the age of five (for Marathi film Ha Maza Marg Ekla), from the hands of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan the second president of India, in the presence of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Back then, it was known as President’s Awards and the child artiste category did not exist, so I was the first to win it. My mother had stitched a sherwani with mojri for the event and as I was leaving after receiving my award, Pandit ji called me, made me sit on his lap, took the rose from his coat and placed it on my sherwani. My mother was keen that I have a 9 to 5 job, but this event changed her thought process. Eventually, I went on to work in more than 65 films as a child.”

Sachin cherishes the close association that he shared with Dev Anand. He says, “Dev Anand with whom I worked a lot, loved himself and would address himself by his name Dev, while explaining a scene. The first time it happened, I asked him, 'Who is playing Dev?' He looked at me for a few seconds before announcing he was referring to himself and I apologized. He told me that I reminded him of his younger brother Goldie, who he was very close to. I played his younger brother in his debut directorial Prem Pujari. Apart from working with Dev saab, I feel fortunate to have been part of cult films like Sholay, Satte Pe Satta, Nadiya Ke Paar, Geet Gaata Chal and more.”

Talking about the life lessons that he has learnt in all these years, he says, “At 24, I became a director in Marathi cinema. Today, my actors receive their cheque from me (not my managers) even before they have taken off their makeup on the final day of shoot. The reason is, that’s how I wanted to be treated when I was younger, but it wouldn’t happen. I celebrate the birthdays of my crew - from the light man to the actors because no one celebrated my birthday on the sets."

“The day Shriya was born, I was shooting for my Marathi directorial Atmavishwas, in Mumbai’s Shivaji Park. The previous night the doctor informed us Supriya would have to deliver the baby the next evening because of some complications. Co-incidentally, the hospital was on the same street as my shooting location. I was arranging the shot in the afternoon when a friend informed me that I’ve become father to a baby girl and I rushed to the hospital. The same evening, we received the news that I had received the Maharashtra State Award for Best Director for Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi and Supriya had won the award for Best Actress for Maza Pati Karodpati. Today, Shriya has made her own space in the industry and I am proud of her. As a family, we are very tight and they have always been my pillar of strength.”

The actor, who shared screen space with Meena Kumari in the film Majhli Didi, says, “Meena aapa imbibed Urdu into my life and today, it is part of my system. Having command over a language gives you immense confidence, it changes your body language and approach to your work. I couldn’t speak English back then, but a friend helped me by conversing and that’s how I learnt the language. Today, I visit colleges to give lectures on career building, but I consider myself a student. My pseudonym is Shafaq, and I write and recite Urdu poetry, and have shared the stage with the likes of Wasim Barelvi and Javed Akhtar.”

Supriya (Pilgaonkar) and I are total opposites, but I never tried to change her because I married her for what she is. We were approached for Nach Baliye (2005) because the channel needed a senior couple and they didn’t even know if we could dance. The intention was not to win. We would be happy even if we survived six episodes, but we ended up winning the show. Choreographer Saroj Khan, who was a judge on the show, used to say, “No matter what, the Shammi Kapoor within you will never leave your body.”