I found Rahul Gandhi to be a confident and positive leader: Bhave

His journey from a salesman in a small IT company to a top actor in Marathi film industry who has acted in many critically acclaimed and commercially successful films like Balgandharva, Katyar Kaljat Ghusali and the latest Ani Dr Kashinath Ghanekar is just astonishing. The multifaceted actor, Subodh Bhave, has portrayed the most intricate and challenging characters. But suddenly, Subodh was the talk of the town in Pune recently not for his acting but for interviewing Congress President Rahul Gandhi. In an interview with Pallavi Kharade, the actor talks about his experience of interviewing Rahul Gandhi, his opinions about politics and his booming acting career.

Q: Considering you have not been related to any political party and nobody expected you to be on any political platform, how did this political interview happen? 
A: I interviewed the national president of a political party but that doesn’t mean I am involved in politics in any way. For me, for it was just like anchoring any event that is of any other type or interviewing personalities from any other field. It doesn’t mean I have anything to do with politics.

Q: How was the experience of interviewing a member of the Gandhi family? 
A: The experience was very good. I was meeting Rahul ji for the first time and after interviewing him and spending almost half an hour with him, I found him very confident and positive. He interacted with all of us in a very nice manner.

Q: There was a lot of speculation in Pune about you when people suddenly saw you on that dais. Given an opportunity, will you like to join politics? 
A: Politics is a field where one needs to give full time and attention. But first, one needs to have an inclination towards it right from the beginning. I have my own acting career, life, hobbies and it is not feasible for me to leave all that to join politics. Off course, if I am given any responsibility related to my field like looking after cultural section, then I will love to do it. But portraying the role of a minister in a film is far more different than actively participating in politics. Like I said earlier, politics is not something you can do in your spare time. You are working for the people, society and country. So you have to give your whole and soul to politics. You can’t work in politics as a showpiece. 

Q: After the success of Ani Dr Kashinath Ghanekar, the expectations of the audience from Subodh Bhave have skyrocketed. Is there any pressure of people’s expectations? 
A: I never take any such pressure. Otherwise, after playing legendary characters like Lokmanya Tilak and Balgandharva, I wouldn’t have been able to work. As an actor, it’s our job to portray different characters which have multiple shades. 

Q: After doing biopics of many legendary personalities, is there any particular biopic you would like to do in the future?
A: If I read anything new and I find it challenging, then I am definitely game for it.

Q: Do you have any plans of working in films in other languages than Marathi? 
A: I don’t plan anything. I take up roles which I like from the bottom of my heart irrespective of the language, genre or the medium. The character is more important than the language. If the role is good, then the language doesn’t matter. Irrespective of the stupendous success of Ani Dr Kashinath Ghanekar, I have not signed any film since last one year. Right now, I am busy doing rehearsals for Marathi play Ashrunchi Zali Phule and my full focus is on that play. It will be staged on May 1 in Nashik and later, all over the state.