Pratik Gandhi wants to do an out-an-out action film & a love story

Mumbai, Aug 24 (PTI) Actor Pratik Gandhi, known for his versatility across genres, hopes to do an out-an-out action and a romantic movie next.

“As an actor, I’ve constantly experimented with different genres, such as comedy, a bit of action like in ‘Agni’, spy thriller, and almost all the (other) genres. But my favourite genre is drama, it is something that I love and even comedy," Gandhi told PTI in an interview.

“I’ve not done an-out-and-out action film yet, and I would definitely want to experiment with a good love story,” Gandhi told PTI in an interview," he added.

His most recent show “Saare Jahan Se Accha” was directed by Sumit Purohit and written by Bhavesh Mandalia and Gaurav Shukla. The Netflix series charts the rise of two spy agencies RAW and ISI in the aftermath of the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971.

Produced by Bombay Fables, the spy-thriller also features Sunny Hinduja, Suhail Nayyar, Kritika Kamra, Tillotama Shome, Rajat Kapoor and Anup Soni.

Filmmaker Sejal Shah of Bombay Fables expressed her joy over the positive reception of “Saare Jahan Se Accha” and said that they’re already brainstorming ideas for future seasons.

“We are still in discussion (about the next season) and we don't know where it's going to (go)... We hope there are going to be multiple seasons,” Shah said, adding work is underway on her other projects including her next directorial venture a thriller, on “Japani”, an action-comedy helmed by Rajesh Mapuskar of “Ferrari Ki Sawaari” fame, and an untitled comedy-thriller from Vishal Furia, best known for “Chhorii”, among others.

“I’ve also developed one script, which is a huge action (film), and I love action films and thrillers, that is what I resonate more with. I’m hoping next year to make it into a big action film,” she added.

Gandhi thanked Shah for crafting the character of an Indian spy, Vishnu Shankar, in “Saare Jahan Se Accha”. He added that following the success of his 2020 acclaimed series, “Scam 1992”, he became a favoured choice.

Gandhi said since his theatre days, he was usually the second or third choice and he wanted to change that when he came to movies.

“I had this dream, I wanted to be the first person in the writer's mind whenever he wrote that story. I wanted to be the first name flashing in the director's mind whenever he thought about a character. That suddenly started happening after 'Scam',” the 45-year-old said.

“So, the last five years was a journey where people came to me with a lot of excitement and trust in their eyes, stating, 'Now, we want to work with you', and all of them have been varied genres and characters. I was happy, and I still say that I'm living the dream that I saw once,” the Surat-born actor added.

Gandhi revealed that films like “Do Aur Do Pyaar”, “Madgaon Express”, “Phule”, and “Gandhi” series, were all made with him in mind.

“In mainstream cinema, it started happening with 'Do Aur Do Pyaar', 'Madgaon Express', and 'Phule'. Anant (Mahadevan, director) sir said that, 'I can see Phule in you, for 'Gandhi', Sameer Nair (producer) approached me and said, 'This is what we want to do with you, you are the first choice'. I can't thank the universe enough for this particular phase in my life,” Gandhi said.

With “Saare Jahan Se Accha”, which released on August 13, the actor said his wish of playing a spy agent got fulfilled.

“I had never played a character of an intelligence officer or a spy, that to a human, not a superhuman, who flies and kicks and jumps, there's a real spy who means business, and who is not operating on field, but on desk through his mind. So, that's the biggest tick-mark for me,” Gandhi said, adding that the treatment of the story, free from jingoism and hyper-realism, made it easy for him to accept the role.

Speaking of “Saare Jahan Se Accha”, Gandhi said for him Alia Bhatt-Vicky Kaushal’s “Raazi” and the 2019 mini-series, “The Spy” were the closest references for an authentic portrayal of a spy agent. PTI KKP ATR ATR