Showing posts with label Gashmeer Mahajani. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gashmeer Mahajani. Show all posts
Even if character gets married several times or is kidnapped often, audience stays invested-Smita Bansal
4:41 PM
Letty Mariam Abraham (MID-DAY; July 21, 2026)
Three decades into her career, Smita Bansal still feels butterflies before stepping onto a new set. “I get extremely nervous,” admits the actor, who transitioned from lead roles to character parts with Balika Vadhu (2008). As she gears up to play the head dean in 108 Base Hospital Uri, Bansal speaks to mid-day about choosing finite television, embracing mother roles on screen, and why the medium needs a revamp. Excerpts from the interview.
Did you take up 108 Base Hospital Uri because it is a finite show?
We have been saying that content on television is becoming repetitive and needs a change for long. I believe finite series have more to offer. You get to work more on your character because you know the story from the beginning to its end and there is a proper graph. The story doesn’t change every week because of TRPs. It is also a challenge for the writers to keep the audience hooked for years. When I started doing TV [in the 1990s], we had finite series and weekly shows. That’s why I support different kinds of work coming in.
Did that feeling become stronger after your series, The Pyramid Scheme?
I shot The Pyramid Scheme while filming Bhagya Lakshmi. My issue is that TV wasn’t offering enough weekend programming. We have limited content during that slot. But 108 Base Hospital Uri is set in a real space. Even though it is a medical drama, it focuses on the real challenges army doctors face, rather than only the human side.
Will a show that is different from saas-bahu dramas work? If it doesn’t, who is to blame — the creatives or the audience?
What will work and what won’t is something no one has really understood. When Balika Vadhu was made, we had no idea how people would receive it until the first week. Audiences become used to a certain kind of content, so it becomes easier for them to accept it. Even if she gets married several times or is kidnapped often, the audience stays invested. I think it is a collective responsibility to [move with the times]. By the time a new-format show is launched and begins finding acceptance, the makers have already decided to pull the plug. You have to give audiences the time to develop a taste for something new. They should also demand better content and reject stories that don’t make sense. TV needs a revamp.
Do you feel typecast in mother roles after playing leads initially?
When I moved to character roles with Balika Vadhu, it happened organically. Even after the leap, the decision wasn’t difficult because the show was hugely popular. Lead actors spend 14 to 16 hours on set and work almost 30 days a month. I was entering motherhood and didn’t want to stay away from my child for long. So, stepping away was a conscious decision. There’s a reason behind playing mother on screen. After the hero and heroine, the mother is usually the most prominent character in a TV show. There’s also the factor of screen age. After Balika Vadhu, it would have been difficult for audiences to accept me in much younger roles.
What did the workshops for 108 Base Hospital Uri involve?
Our producer, Samar Khan, comes from an army background, so he made us aware of everything we needed to know. It’s not that we underwent intensive action training, though I’m sure Erica [Fernandes] and Gashmeer [Mahajani] did that too. We learnt army etiquette, basic gun handling, and combat. We were also trained in how doctors and nurses interact in a hospital. A doctor was present on set to teach us how to hold medical instruments and follow the correct procedures. We also watched medical documentaries to ensure there were no technical errors.
Passing judgements is easier than knowing both sides of a story-Gashmeer Mahajani
8:36 AM
More than a month after his father, veteran actor Ravindra Mahajani, died at an apartment near Pune, actor Gashmeer Mahajani speaks exclusively to us about the circumstances
Mihir Bhanage (BOMBAY TIMES; August 26, 2023)
It’s been over a month since veteran actor Ravindra Mahajani passed away. His death came as a shock to many, but it was the circumstances in which he died that were talked about more, particularly the fact that his body was discovered two days after he died in the apartment that he was staying in. It didn’t take long for assumptions and judgements to start doing the rounds on social media, predominantly about how his son, actor Gashmeer Mahajani, wasn’t even aware of his father’s death and how the family wasn’t staying together.
In an exclusive interaction with us, Gashmeer opens up about how a deeply personal thing for a grieving family was ‘sensationalized’ and the aftermath of the judgements on social media. Excerpts:
‘Let a star be a star’
In an Instagram story a while after his father’s death, Gashmeer had written, “Let’s let a star be a star. Me and my fellow people will ensure that by being silent.”
The silence, he says, is out of dignity for his late father. “Why dig graves for no reason?” asks Gashmeer, adding, “The person is no more and the least we can do is let his soul be at peace.”
But what about the assumptions about the circumstances around his father’s death? “It was hurtful, yes. People were passing judgements about me and my family, calling me an irresponsible son and questioning how we were clueless to the point that we didn’t even know about his death until two days later. To them, once and for all, I’ll say that it’s easy to pass judgements sitting in some dark room and with access to the internet. What isn’t easy is to understand both sides of the story and have a sensible approach,” he says.
I was reading everything that was being said about me and my family on social media. It did affect me for some time, but I also had people who stood by me throughout
‘My father wasn’t perfect. Nobody is’
There are two sides to every person. “Everybody craves perfection, but nobody is perfect. Neither am I, nor was my father,” shares Gashmeer as he briefly explains the relationship between him and his father.
“While it was said that we had dumped him in a tiny apartment and were ourselves living a life of luxury, I just want to put this out there that he had chosen to stay separately on his own for the last 20 years. As a family we couldn’t do much but accept it, because you can't force someone to do something they don’t want to. It was pretty much a one-sided relationship. He would visit and stay with us when he would feel like it. And when he felt he didn’t want to be with us and wanted to live freely on his own, he would leave. When my first film had released, he stayed for a longer period of time. He was a moody person who liked to be self-sufficient. He didn’t like anyone to do the work that he could, be it cooking his own food, maintaining the house or keeping himself safe – also the reason why caretakers sent to his place used to be removed by him within a day or two,” says Gashmeer.
He adds, “But since the last 3 years he had started limiting his contact with people, including us, his family, and his closest friends. He wasn’t someone who would strike up a conversation with neighbours or be part of a morning-walk group where he stayed. This was also a prime reason behind us learning about his death late. All this may sound like a justification and honestly, at this point, anything I say will be interpreted in multiple ways and I have made peace with that.”
Gashmeer also shares that while his father might not have been the most ideal person, he chooses to focus on the good part. “There were multiple reasons that led to strained relations between us, but he was my father and my mother’s husband. There are many deeply personal aspects involved in this, but certain dark secrets of a family are not to be put on public display. He was one of the most handsome actors in the industry whose smile was infectious. I choose to focus on that,” shares Gashmeer.
“I know what I feel. I know what we’ve been through, and I don’t want to waste my energy on trying to clarify or justify anything to trolls who derive pleasure from hurting others.”
‘Will never forget the people who stood by me in these tough times’
Ravindra Mahajani died from a cardiac arrest and his last rites were held in Pune. With everything that was happening around, Gashmeer says it was the people who stood by the family who made things a little easier.
“Many people took to social media to express solidarity and some even responded to all the negativity aimed at us. But there are four people whose support I will never forget in my life – Shrikar Pitre, Akshay Salunkhe, Pravin Tarde and Ramesh Pardeshi. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t know how we would’ve started coping with this tragedy,” shares Gashmeer.
His father’s death coupled with the trolling on social media took a toll on his mother’s health and she had to be hospitalized twice. “I understand the backlash and negativity. It’s kind of everyday sadism where someone gets pleasure out of hurting others. But my mother was in a delicate state already and this added to her stress. For me, it is more important to take care of her than be affected by these trolls,” he says, adding, “If you are a public figure, your family is inadvertently dragged into any controversy associated with you. It’s unfortunate but all you can do is counsel them that these things can happen and ignore it.”
Poster of Gashmeer Mahajani and Pooja Sawant’s Bonus is endearing and fresh!
8:40 PM
Producers Arjun Singgh Baran and Kartk D Nishandar of GSEAMS ((Global Sports Entertainment And Media Solutions Private Limited) are on a roll. After coming up with multiple films in 2019, they have now unveiled the first look of their upcoming Marathi film, Bonus. The film stars Gashmeer Mahajani and Pooja Sawant and both feature in the poster, released by the makers recently. This first look has a nice touch and indicates that the film can turn out to be a nice, slice-of-life romantic drama. The backdrop of Mumbai’s Worli Koliwada and Bandra-Worli Sea Link and the large suitcase on the side adds to the impact.
Moreover, the pairing has also been noticed. Handsome hunk Gashmeer Mahajani, in a very short span of his career, has carved a niche for himself with his recent films like Deool Band, Kanha, One Way Ticket and Mala Kahich Problem Nahi. Pooja Sawant on the other hand is also quite popular thanks to her films like Daagdi Chawl, Vrundavan, Poshter Boyz, Lapachhapi and even the last year’s Bollywood flick, Junglee. Both come together for the first time and the chemistry seems interesting, from the poster.
And not just that, Bonus is written and directed by Saurabh Bhave, who is also been appreciated for his skills in screenplay and writing. He had penned screenplay for many hit Marathi films including Haapus, Taryanche Bait, Hrudayantar and Chumbak, among others. He says, “Bonus is that extra bit that we all deserve - extra bit of money, joy and happiness, But unfortunately, some people are too privileged and some are not. Bonus tries to bring these two worlds together - The world of Haves and Have Nots. It is the joyride journey of a boy who, in the process of proving his worth, encounters with the whole new world that changes his life and beliefs upside down. It is story of his coming of age.”
“As the title suggests, it is about courage, audacity and the path differently treaded.Bonus will be another film which will keep our tradition of powerful story and star cast as witnessed in our previous films,” say Arjun Singgh Baran and Kartik D Nishandar of GSEAMS.
GSEAMS, a leading company in entertainment sector, had earlier produced Fugay, Tula Kalnaar Nahi, Ranangan, Vicky Velingkar and presented films like Bhikari. GSEAMS is one of the top studios in Maharashtra having its vertical spread across film productions and presentation, TV productions, talent management, movie marketing and promotion and satellite syndication.
Bonus releases on February 28, 2020.
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