Rakesh Bedi: I miss working with Govinda; he has a great sense of timing – Exclusive – Times of India

In an exclusive interview with ETimes, the ace actor opened up about his love for acting, actors he misses working with, nepotism and more. Excerpts:

Tell us something about your character in ‘Mera Baap Kaun Hai’.


I am playing Samiksha Bhatnagar’s father in the film. He is a Gujarati and a very jovial fellow. He loves his daughter very much but interferes in her life too much. In real life too, when such things happen, there comes a point when kids don’t like it. They start complaining about it. As a parent, you just want to be included in their lives and you try to solve every problem they have in their lives.

Even the kind of relationship my character has with the in-laws of his daughter in the film is very interesting and that is also something that attracted me to play this character.

How was your experience shooting for the film with your co-stars Vivek Dahiya and Samiksha Bhatnagar?


My experience shooting for the film was great. Samiksha is a sweet girl, and Vivek has made a good name for himself on television. I had fun working with them both. The subject of the film is also very sweet. I hope the film is received well by the audience.

You come from a non-film background. How and when did the acting bug bite you?


The acting bug bit me when I was a kid. I used to participate in dramas at all the events and functions. I was active in all kinds of extra-curricular activities. I also always won prizes for them. I was not into sports that much. I just played cricket. My love for acting started from there, and since then I have only had one ambition, and that was to become an actor.

I am a huge fan of Charlie Chaplin. I watched all his movies. We used to mount projectors at my friend’s house and watch all his movies. He inspired me a lot to become an actor.

Tell us something about your initial days in the industry. How difficult was it to create your own space?


The initial days are difficult for every actor. For me, it was a little easier because I was from FTII. I did my course from there. I almost had a campus placement. I was performing at my own convocation at FTII in which GP Sippy, producer of ‘Sholay’ was the chief guest. I was a part of a lot of things over there.

So Mr Sippy saw me and cast me right there in FTII. The film was titled, ‘Ehsaas’. In those times, it was very difficult for actors because there was only one platform. There were only films; no television, no OTT, no social media, nothing. It was difficult to bag a film. I consider myself very lucky because I got a few films like, ‘Chashme Buddoor’, ‘Ek Duje Ke Liye, ‘Hamare Tumhare’, ‘Bulandi’ and others. It was tough but I kept going.

The OTT has given a new lease of life to many actors and technicians. What are your thoughts on the same?


I think OTT is one of the greatest things that have happened, not only to actors but to everybody in the entertainment industry. You need to churn out so much content daily. You need writers for that, DoPs, actors, directors, producers, workers and all kinds of people. This has become a worldwide phenomenon. And because of OTT, TV has now taken a backseat.

I have been a part of a few OTT series and films and I have really enjoyed it. I feel there is more freedom of expression on OTT than it has been on TV. The best part is that when you are on OTT, you are competing with the world because you don’t know in which language your show or film will get translated and how many people will watch it. So you always have to be on your toes and give your best.

The talks about nepotism in the industry never die. You have two lovely daughters. Where do you stand in this debate?


Nepotism has always existed in the industry. I don’t know why people make a hue and cry about it. Why don’t people talk about nepotism in other fields? Nobody questions why Mukesh and Anil Ambani inherited their father Dhirubhai Ambani’s business. Nepotism is everywhere. There is nothing wrong with children wanting to follow their parents’ career paths.

In our industry, nepotism works only to a certain point. There are so many examples where star kids have found a good launch pad but have not been successful because they don’t have the talent. But there are also star kids who are immensely talented. Vicky Kaushal’s father Sham Kaushal has been a stunt master, an action director but his son has become an actor. He is very talented. Dev Anand was a superstar but his son is not. You can give basic push but beyond that, only talent survives.

Many actors of your generation are either not working or are seen very less on the screen. Is there any actor you absolutely miss working with?


Many of the actors of my generation are not there in the scene. They have either hung their boots or are doing very little work. I believe that I am different from them. I love to work. I love new challenges. Plus I do a lot of theatre, which keeps me alive and going at any given point in time. In fact, in the 42-43 years of my career, there hasn’t been a single month when I have not stepped on the stage to do something or the other.

I miss many of my co-actors. One of the actors I miss working with a lot is Govinda. I have done a lot of films with him and he has a great sense of timing. Another co-actor I miss dearly is Shafi Inamdar who was with me in ‘Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi’ and Satish Shah. They all have a great commitment towards their work.

Were you a movie buff growing up? Whom did you idolise?


You need to be a movie buff if you want to come into movies. Of course I was a movie buff in my childhood. You have to watch movies to go through that change of mind, widening of the horizons, and growth of your character. But I did not idolise anybody as such. I never thought I wanted to be Rajesh Khanna or Dilip Kumar. I wanted to be an actor, in my own capacity.

The only person I followed thoroughly in my career was Charlie Chaplin. In India, I loved the work of Dilip sahab, Mehmood sahab and Sanjeev Kumar was also one of my favourites. He was a very inspiring actor. I did my first film with him. I was his son in the movie.

From the new generation of actors, who according to you has a great potential?


From the new generation, I think Vicky Kaushal is exceptionally good. In the past 4-5 years, he has really turned the table for himself. He has become a big star and now he has also married a megastar. There is no dearth of good actors today I feel. There are so many platforms today and you have to give your best to survive.

What’s next?


One film that is ready for release is ‘Chhatriwali’ with Rakul Preet Singh. Then there is Laxman Utekar’s ‘Khel Khel Mein’ for which I am really excited. I also have 2-3 web series like ‘Surang’ and ‘Show Stopper’ in my pipeline. I have also written a few scripts and I hope I will be able to direct them.