SURENDRA PAL SINGH

“I am glad that I was able to reach the top of the ladder as an actor and able to create my own independent identify for myself”

SURENDRA PAL SINGH tells JYOTHI VENKATESH in this exclusive telephonic interview that he is glad that as an actor he has been able to reach the top of the ladder and able to create his own independent niche.

 

Surendra Pal Singh is ecstatic as not only his serial Mahabharat in which he is essaying the character of Dronacharya is being aired not on just one or two but four different satellite channels after it was retelecast by Doordarshan in April this year when lockdown had started, but also several TV serials of his like Chanakya, Shaktimaan, Diya Aur Baati, Vishnupuran, Maharana Pratap Singh etc are also being telecast right now besides Mahabharat that is. Surendra picked up my call instantly when I called him at his house and was game for the exclusive interview. Surendra is relaxing at home thanks to the lockdown and says “Ghar Ek Mandir Hai aur dhal banke khada hai aur hum sab surakshith hain.”

How did you bag your break in Mahabharat which has made you a household name?

I had left the video of my film Shama with B.R. Choprasaab way back in 1987 as I was keen to be part of films which were being made by B.R. Films then. The entire casting was over for the serial Mahabharat and Mukesh Khanna was already signed to play the role of Dronacharya. When I was called to his office by Gufi Paintal who was the production designer there, already my films like Shama and Eent Ka Jawab Paththar Se had been released. Gufi told me that they wanted me to play the role of Dronacharya. I told him I did not want to grey my hair and sport white beard for the role and excused myself and walked out of his office towards my car outside the B R Films Office.

Wasn’t Vijayendra Ghatge slated to play the role of Dronacharya before you said No to the role?

Vijayendra was initially offered the role of Bheeshma, but he refused to sport a white beard and opted out of the role and Mukesh Khanna who was slated to play Dronacharya was shifted to the role of Bheeshma. They needed yet another actor to play the role of Dronacharya immediately. When I was walking out of the office, Choprasaab saw me and sent a man to fetch me to his office, where he was sated with the likes of Dr Rahi Masoom Raza, Dharam Chopra etc. When Choprasaab offered to cast me in Mahabharat as Dronacharya because he felt I fitted the part, I protested that I did not want to be bracketed as yet another A.L. Hangal but he summoned Ravi Chopra to his cabin and told him that he had found his Dronacharya in me and asked him to give me the details of the shooting without any screen test for me.

Why did you do a volte face and agree to play the part?

Financially, I was not secure at that time and agreed to act since I was at least assured of daily payment on the days I worked for the serial though it was not a big amount then but I was glad that I had agreed because though none of us thought that the serial would be a hit, its viewership increased day by day and created history. I realized that a role need not be big or small and from then on I never looked back.

After Mahabharat did you never sport a beard for any other serial?

Except for Vishnupuran in which I played the role of Shukracharya, I did not have to wear a wig or sport any beard. Even after 30 years, when I bagged the serial Devon Ka Dev Maha Dev, I did not wear a wig or sport a beard when I played the role of Prajapati Daksh.

Go on!

I have always accepted challenges and played a wide variety of roles as an actor, a feat rarely any other actor has been able to accomplish, like in Tamas Chanakya, Chandragupta, Shaktimaan, The Zee Horror show, Shagun, Aurat etc. Till date, no single role that I have essayed has ever been similar to yet another one. Also, whether it was Dronacharya in B.R. Chopra’s Mahabharat, Parshuram in Suryaputra Karan, Bheeshma in Chandraprakash Dwivedi’s Ek Aur Mahbharat or Ravan in B.R. Chopra’s Ramayan, Amatya Rakshas in Chanakya or Shukracharya in Vishnu Puran, I have always played only larger than life characters. Also, I have not sat idle at home even for one single day in my life. I feel that it by itself has been a great achievement as far as I am concerned. Also, no other actor has had 12 back to back shows on Doordarshan as well as private channels like Zee and Sony TV till date.

Would you agree that while TV has brought you maximum opportunities as an actor, films have not exploited your latent talent at all?

It has been 32 years since I started my career way back in 1988. If it is only TV that has brought me to the fore and not films, it is because I had switched off to TV after Mahabharat after acting in films like Shama and Eent Ka Jawaab Paththar Se. Also, at a time when every other actor used to ditch TV shows and rush to filmmakers like Manmohan Desai, Feroze Khan and Subhash Ghai to act in their film in small roles, I was perhaps the only actor who firmly stood his ground and refused to be party fop both films as well as TV at the same time, because I did not feel that it was advisable to sail in two boats.  I am glad that I was able to reach the top of the ladder as an actor and able to create my own independent identity for myself.

Which are your personal five best roles as far as films are concerned?

Among the five personal best  as far as films are concerned are Shama, Jodha Akbar, Rangoon, Ghulami and Indian, while Mahabharata, Chanakya, Devon ka Dev Mahadev, Shaktimaan and the Zee Horror show are the five best TV shows that I have done till date in 32 years as an actor. If you count my first film Shama produced by act or Kader Khan way back in 1981, it is my 40th year as an actor but I prefer to count from the year when I bagged Mahabharat in 1981.As an actor, I think luckily I did not get typed as Dronacharya. Because I have always tried to create something new in every character that I did and every time I came on the scene with a new TV show, people could see me in an entirely new avatar.

In what way have you changed as an actor in the past 32 years?

The parameter of acting ahs changed definitely and today acting is natural and not at all contrived or theatrical for that matter like in the earlier times. Today, I think I have reached a stage and age where I can do any role. I have become choosy because I feel that there is no shortage of good roles for any actor today.

Have you also been part of any web series?

Yes.I played the role of Raja who rapes the girl who comes to apply mehendi in a wedding. Earlier, I was offered a part in the web series Sacred Games but I refused it

Which are the directors who are in your wish list as an actor?

The one and only filmmaker who is in my wish list is Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Though I am not in his radar as an actor, he has been there for a long time in my radar as a director. I am still waiting for my opportunity

Who are your favorite actors in Bollywood?

Govinda for his own inimitable style of fast delivery of dialogue and sense of timing, Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit and last but not the least Kajol

When almost every other popular actor has opted for politics, why have you not?

That is only because neither do I have the inclination nor the time to devote to politics right now. I have said No to several offers to stand for elections. I am not like Dhritrashtra who will die of putramoh. I do not know politics at all and the only politician I like is Narendra Modi

Is it true that you have also turned a producer with a Hindi film called Gandhi Tere Desh Mein?

Yes. I have produced a film called Gandhi Tere Desh Mein with my children. It has been directed by Rajendra Gupta. It is an experimental film with actors like Mukesh Khanna, Shweta Tiwari etc and I plan to release it on any OTT shortly after it is censored.

Which are your forthcoming projects?

There is a film called Haunted Hills, besides my own film Gandhi Tere Desh Mein.