“After Super 30, I Will Be Seen In Renuka Shahane’s Film Tribhang”- Manav Gohil

Jyothi Venkatesh

 Manav Govil, who is not a part and parcel of the rat race that the film and TV industry have become today, is taking it easy as an actor and exploring various facets of his. The actor, who has already been part of at least seven to eight music videos after he made his debut with Jagjit Singh’s music video Pyar Ka Pehla Khat is now after a long period of time, is a part of the single music video called Challa Diamond Da of singer Jash from New Jersey, USA, for which Ganesh Acharya is the choreographer and director. The lyrics have been penned by Kumaar and the music has been composed by Rochak Kohli both of whom are very prominent and have recorded multiple hits in the past Manav’s actress wife Shweta Kawaatra attended the music release with her daughter Zahra. Zee Music Company has released the audio of this single.  

Taking time from the busy schedule during the release function, Manav confided to me that he had taken a six months break from his hectic schedule on TV by quitting the show Tenali Rama and acted in two films. One of them was Tribhang which is being directed by Renuka Shahane in which his co-actor is none other than the talented Kajol.  “Kajol is also as bubbly as Swaroop Sampat was when I worked with her in Saptapadi, full of life, besides being an exemplary actress”, says Manav. Tribhang is Renuka Shahane’s second attempt at direction after her maiden directorial venture Rita which was in Marathi. The other film on the anvil is Sajid Nadiadwala’s next film Baaghi 3.

Manav told me excitedly that he is also open to acting in web series because he feels that it is the need of the hour today and said that he is all set to act in a web series for Netflix which has been delayed due to technical reasons. Manav is happy that post his tenure in Tenalirama, his fan following amongst the kids has increased tremendously. “I had played the role of Raja Krishna Deva Raya in Tenalirama. Shakti Anand stepped into another part in the serial. It was quite tough to play Raja Krishna Raya because *I had to close all my corridors as an actor and control myself as a king when I set out to act but then I am glad that I had taken up the role without any hesitation at all”

Manav is happy that he had taken up the challenge to play the role of Raja Krishna Deva Raya in Tenalirama. “The vision is always that fo the director but as an actor, I always try to give some suggestions to my directors on the sets and then arrive at a consensus with him. If you are lucky enough to get a good script and a director, then life is good and smooth for you as an actor or else you have no other alternative but to struggle with time and your director to make the script good. It is 20 years since I made my debut as an actor with TV. How I perceive acting now is exactly the way I perceive the world now. As an artiste, I now know how to approach a scene of mine differently. Like Cinema and TV both have evolved over the years, you also evolve with age. Though I feel that theatre and TV have been comfort zones for me as an actor, films have an altogether different kind of intoxications. After I did Super 30, I started getting a lot for offers from various producers. I did Super 30 after having been part of TV serials for 20 years.”

Manav has absolutely no qualms to confess that when he fell in love with Shweta Khawatra and married her, she was a bigger star, like Jaya Bhaduri was when Amitabh Bachchan married her. “I remember when I used to attend functions when I was dating, photographers used to ask me to stand aside when they were photographing her but I had no problems at all. I am glad that recently Shweta and I acted in as short film called Cheers in English. It was a ten minute long film in which we played the husband and wife. The film talks about wedding as an institution and there was also an element of suspense and twist in the film”. 

Though he was appreciated in a cameo role in Super 30 with Hrithik Roshan recently, way back in 2001, Manav remembers that it was a Gujarati film called Saptapadi with which he had made his debut as a leading man opposite Swaroop Sampat. “Actually I was supposed to play Swaroop Sampat’s brother in a Gujarati film but unfortunately for me, the film did not materialize at all and I got the offer to play her lead in Saptapadi. When I started working in TV serials in the beginning, I had to work a lot on my Hindi accent as well as diction because I am a kathiawadi and had a heavy Gujju accent. At one time, I used to dream in Gujarati and work in Hindi. Besides English theatre, I have also acted in a Marwadi theater with Ila Arun. As an actor, I feel that I should be able to use a language as my weapon.”

Why is Shweta Khawatra no longer acting in serials?  Ask him gingerly. Manav shot back, “If Shweta is not acting in any serials any more, please do not blame me. Initially, she wanted to concentrate on our daughter as she wanted herself to be able to groom her up. Now she is able to take time to concentrate on acting. It is her own decision. She herself is not at keen on acting in TV serials any more but is open to acting in web series as well as films. She has her own mind set as an individual.”

When asked to come up with the names of the TV serials which he feels  are his top five favorites, Manav signs off by stating that among the TV serials that he has acted in till date, Khelti Hain Zindagi Aankh Michouli, Kksum, Sara Akash, Shhh Koi Hai and last but not the least Betiaan Paraya Dhan in that order.

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Tags: Bollywood, Bollywood News, Bollywood Updates, Television, Telly News, Super 30, Renuka Shahane, Film Tribhang, Manav Gohil