Still waiting for the right role

I do the roles that I am being offered, wholeheartedly. I am an actor, my job is to act and do full justice to whatever my role is. I guess this is another reason for me being the popular old guy on television. But I have a strong belief that sooner or later, I will be able to make it.

Ashok Lokhande is one of those numerous television actors who have a strong theatrical background. He is a common face on television these days. You might have seen him playing the loud Soori saab in Saans or the cook-cum-friend to the boys and girls in Just Mohabbat, or the retired Major and Kulbhushan Kharbanda’s old buddy in Yeh Hain Mere Apne.

He is not one of those actors who stepped into the television scene with the onset of the satellite channels. In fact, he entered much before that. He started his television career on Doordarshan with Mrignayanee in 1991 and later did Chanakya.

"I remember while doing Mrignayanee, we shot 28 episodes in about one year, these days, I have to run around doing these many episodes in less than a week," he says, indicating the pace at which the television scene is moving presently.

Coming from the interiors of Maharashtra, from Pusad, near Nagpur, Ashok secured an entry into the National School of Drama (Delhi) after completing his graduation. "The three years in NSD changed my perspective of life. I did not see the outside world during that period. Acting was not the only thing we learnt out there. We were trained in all forms of creative art and art appreciation," he says remembering his days at NSD. After NSD, he worked with Amol Palekar for sometime.

Then there was a long gap. For about two to three years, there wasn’t much work, a pilot episode here and there, was all he did. But ever since the television scene got heated up with the emergence of satellite channels, he has been a busy man. "So far I have done a lot of work wherein I have mostly played an old guy or a character who brings in a few moments of relief in the long running serious teleserials. Initially, I accepted a few roles without much thinking and now I find that I am being offered the same stuff over and over again. They all want me to play the loud, old man. What I want to do is more substantial roles. Its not that I want to play a young guy or something, I want roles which have more flesh to them."

Ashok has always wanted to act in films. He even did two big films Khamoshi and Sarfarosh. But these two experiences haven’t been pleasant for him. "When I was told about my part in the movie, I was very excited because it sounded important and interesting. Then on the sets I realised that these are the small, one time appearance kinds, but you can’t complain at the last moment. I was very upset, because the roles were such, that I didn’t even get noticed. What could be worse for an actor?" he complains.

Presently, he is doing Yeh Hain Mere Apne. But he is still waiting for the right kind of opportunity to exhibit his talent and feel satisfied. "I know, it is not easy and it might take sometime. In the meantime, I do these roles that I am being offered, wholeheartedly. I am an actor, my job is to act and do full justice to whatever my role is. I guess this is another reason for me being the popular old guy on television. But I have a strong belief that sooner or later, I will be able to make it."

Lopamudra Bhattacharya

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