Exclusive! Sachin Khedekar: I never cracked it in Bollywood with all the Aamir Khans and SRKs of the world

Seen in Antim: The Final Truth some time back, Sachin Khedekar is back in the role of a father with morals in The Whistleblower. While he was seen in the film which starred Salman Khan in the lead role, Sachin still feels that he never cracked it in Bollywood thanks to the Khans. Citing the examples of Aamir and Shah Rukh Khan, he said that the way he is recognized in the South Indian film industry, unfortunately that didn't work the way he wanted with the Hindi film industry.

Excerpts from the interview...

Antim and then The Whistleblower. Aren't you on a roll?

(Laughs) I'm on a roll, yeah. I like the feeling.

You play a sweet and naive father in The Whistleblower. Was it a role you were looking at doing or it came your way?

It didn't come my way. For the last, almost a year, I was trying to get a role to start my digital journey. It's actually my first web show.

But you did one web series on Zee5, right?

That was a two-day part and it was in Marathi. This is in Hindi. So, my excitement was to the fullest. I wanted to do something that was thought-provoking and would make the audience think and ask questions. I thought The Whistleblower is an extremely important show for the digital world. It shows a lot of angst and fight against the system and would provoke the audience more.

Swwapnil Joshi released a film called Bali but it wouldn't be wrong to say that it was your Bali on the show. Do you generally believe that some sacrifices are necessary to reach somewhere?

Yes. People are sacrificed when they stand up against people. For a whistleblower, you cannot put a whistle while staying outside the system. You have to be in the system to bring a change. You can't take merit for a ride. Education cannot become a business. All these are facts. We were trying to reach the subject around you. We thought if the audience sees even one bit off in the context, they would not watch the show, you know? Thus, it was necessary to stay as close to real life as possible. That was the task. I really thought the subject had all the angst for people to watch it and ask some questions over it. I thought they would be throttled. If this is happening in a medical field, then it is a point of concern.

If I'm not wrong, you would also be shooting for KBC Marathi with the show...

That was the case (laughs). I was actually going to finish The Whistleblower and then move on to KBC Marathi in March. But then, the second wave came so we had to take a break and restart again. It was fine. My role in The Whistleblower - of Dr. Ashwin - was of an extremely honest man. You will never see that someone is dishonest at home and honest at work (laughs). If you've seen normal human beings, they have different sets of ideas that they approach differently. In the case of Ashwin, it was more multi-layered and complex because he was an extremely protective family man, businessman and then a doctor treating his patient. So, when the drama comes home, to his son, the way he reacts and stands against the system is an extremely brave part. I love my part.

The character is brief but impactful. He comes and goes but is always there in the story. Was that what attracted you towards the role?

Yeah. The shadow of Ashwin is all over the show. That's a given. It is the drama. Individually, in my personal life as well, I have great respect for the academy and really think that being highly qualified is damn cool in this time. The merit can never be bought. It has to be original. In the case of doctors, it's even more because you are dealing with human lives day in and day out. In these COVID-19 times, we've seen the doctors' contribution to the pandemic and it is immense. So, in The Whistleblower, when education is treated like business, it's something which is very attacking and a subject matter to me personally. Manoj Pillai's writing combined with the workshops, visits to hospitals and administrators. We saw OT, office and more. We were very particular when it came to approaching the businesses and the likes. It was great fun to adapt to all that. I was with all the newcomers - Ritwik Bhowmik and Ankita Sharma - who were so talented and natural that I was amazed. They try to add to the performance in every take. They were so good. It wouldn't appear that it was Manoj's first job either because he was so much in the detail. That was exciting.

What kind of responses have come your way? Is it generally for the show or for your character specifically?

I have been getting calls from day one. We're going to The Kapil Sharma Show tomorrow which is a big high (laughs). You know, I was not in the trailer and was cribbing about it but Manoj convinced me that my character deserves to be kept under the wraps. The show is being received very well. I binge-watched all the nine episodes. I started watching it at mid-night and watched it till the morning. You know, the viewers have to just watch one episode and then, I don't need to say anything. I know they will go through all nine.

Even though you have played many roles in your life, your utmost recognition remains playing the freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose on screen. Would you believe that you were getting stereotyped or are open to such roles?

I have only done one biopic and played Dr. Ambedkar in a series. Both the roles have me a big high. For an actor, entertaining people is not his only responsibility. You can make people think. For me, if I get a chance to play a National hero, that would be the thing. I'm alright with becoming image-bound while playing biopics because I enjoy the study behind it and the content behind it. Such projects stay with you and change you as a person. So, if somebody wants to stereotype me in that role, I'm fine with it. In fact I want to do some more biopics.

Your spectrum of films is wide, in the sense that you have worked in almost every language. Was that what you aimed to achieve?

You know, when I got the first offer for a South Indian film, I auditioned for it in Mumbai. He told me the film would be made in Hindi and Telugu. When I told him that I don't know the language, I was informed that people would train me. So, my first film was by accident. Then I actually liked doing it because it is like performing in front of a different set of audience which was quite cool. Learning the language was a big high. If you're an actor and now with the digital revolution, language is just a medium. People are watching Spanish, French or whatever language content is available. It became exciting for me to be able to adapt to a language and their own acting rhythm. All of it was quite the exercise and I enjoyed it. I was part of really big films which I wasn't getting an opportunity in Hindi at all. I never cracked it with all the Aamir Khans and SRKs of the world. While I worked with SRK and Salman in Baadshah, Tere Naam and Antim, I never got to stand out per say, when compared to working with Prabhas, Allu Arjun and Jr. NTR. The sheer number of people who watched those films was exciting. I never thought I would be able to do that. I tried balancing, from Shyam Benegal to Rohit Shetty all my life. I believe if you're an actor you should be able to satisfy all directors. You cannot restrict yourself to one genre. That way it has been good since, come on, we are multi-caste.

Tell me something about RadheShyam…

I have a kick-ass part in the film. It's a period love story set in Europe. It was in the works for two years and is ready for release now. I play a Dean of a hospital in it. The film is about the age-old astrology and science. I kind of hold on to science.

Your upcoming projects?

I have Shehzada with Kartik Aaryan. After that, I have Romeo which is with a newcomer. I'm also hoping to do a Marathi web series.

What is working with Kartik like?

Very nice. I had seen his Punchnama and I was completely impressed with Dhamaka. The performances were top-notch. Shehzada is a Rohit Dhawan film so it's a big film.