Actor Pratik Gandhi’s ‘Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story’, a biopic of stockbroker Harshad Mehta’s life set in the 1980s and 90’s Bombay, broke all record when it took the number one spot in IMDb’s “Top Rated TV Shows” list surpassing international series like ‘Breaking Bad’ (9.5), and ‘Game of Thrones’ (9.2).
Also Read: ‘Scam 1992’ grabs place in IMDb’s ‘Top 10 Indian Web Series of 2020’ list
The series also changed the destiny of Pratik who started picking up top awards one after another for his powerful portrayal as the leading man in the maiden web series of Hansal Mehta.
In Pratik’s own words, his life has changed a lot after ‘Scam 1992’.
“My life changed a lot after ‘Scam 1992’. In fact, I have been taken more seriously as an actor now. There are a lot of people considering me for leads and central characters. They are ready to work on projects with me, be it Hindi film or web series. Some interesting regional cinema is also coming my way so yeah I guess ‘Scam’ has opened up a lot of new world for me and there are a lot of opportunities coming my way. I’m really excited and looking forward to it,” he told Opoyi in an interview.
Pratik also says that he would like to take this opportunity to give a boost to regional cinema especially the entertainment industry of his hometown, Gujarat.
“After ‘Scam’, things changed for me across the nation and globe because the series put me on a national and international level. If I believe that I have now that kind of popularity or if I have some power then I would really want my regional entertainment industry to flourish more with that in whatever capacity I can. I certainly want to push boundaries for regional cinema especially for Gujarati cinema and storytelling format because it has a lot to offer and I want to do more and more experimental stuff in Gujarati now,” he said.
Pratik is currently seen in OHO Gujarati’s maiden web series, ‘Vitthal Teedi’. The series follows the story of a small-time gambler who rises to fame exploring the highs and lows of his life through games of cards. Set in the early 80s, it was filmed in January 2021.
Pratik is seen in a completely different avatar in the series than his previous work.
The series has been helmed by Abhishek Jain, the celebrated Gujarati director responsible for films like ‘Kevi Rite Jaish’ (2012), ‘Bey Yaar’ (2014), and an upcoming Hindi film with Maddock Films starring Rajkumar Rao and Kriti Sanon. It’s a homecoming of sorts for Pratik to come back to Gujarati cinema with Jain and Cineman Productions who he had made his debut with.
Also Read: Taapsee Pannu and Pratik Gandhi team up for ‘Woh Ladki Hai Kahaan?’
The actor says that ‘Vitthal Teedi’ is a special project for multiple reasons.
“It is the story that is coming out of my own regional language for the first time ever. It is my first Gujarati web series that I am doing and that too with Abhishek Jain with whom I started my Gujarati film career. I and Abhishek are working together after 7-8 years. It’s a very exciting collaboration for me. Apart from that, I have always been waiting for such kinds of stories coming from Gujarat, which is very rooted, realistic, and hard-hitting. It has so much for emotion to convert so it’s a very special story for me and a very interesting character to perform,” he said.
The actor says that “regional is next global”.
“…regional stories have lots to offer to the entertainment industry. It has unique freshness, flavour and appeals to the audience with natural and realistic emotions. Especially with the emergence of OTT (Over the Top), the audience is quite open to new content and style of storytelling,” he said.
So what next after ‘Vitthal Teedi’ for him?
“My next couple of years are already full. My hands are full with different projects including Hindi cinema. There are a couple of films I am doing in the coming times and there are a couple of mainstream web series that I will be doing in the next one and one-half years along with my Gujarati cinema and theatre,” he sums up.
