Gashmeer Mahajani, known for his work in Marathi cinema and television, is a part of Disney+ Hotstar’s ‘Gunaah’. He plays the character of Abhimanyu in the series. In an exclusive interview with IndiaToday.in, the actor spoke about playing different roles, portraying different characters, balancing between Marathi and Hindi cinema, and getting over the shock of his father’s death.

Excerpts from the interview:

Why do you agree to a project? Do you like the challenge of playing versatile characters?

I have done a few OTT shows before which didn’t reach a huge audience. It was important for me to know where ‘Gunaah’ would land. As soon as I found out, I got even more excited for the show because this character is different from anything I have done before. Abhimanyu (his character) is brilliant through the episodes. He has a huge identity crisis, it’s crazy, how he is himself but not really himself. He is a hero and an anti-hero depending on the situation. This unpredictable nature of the character really excited me.

In scripts like this do you ad-lib, or stick to a completely bound script?

The process I follow is that I read the text multiple times because every time you read, you find something new in the character. So, once you are fully prepared with the lines, whatever you do spontaneously will never go off track because you know the text inside out and now you don’t have to think about remembering your lines. Now, even if you improvise your lines, it’s okay.

You play amazing roles in Marathi and Hindi cinema. How has this change benefited you as an actor?

I will always work in Marathi cinema. That is my beginning. But what has happened is that Marathi audiences have always supported everything I do and now I am getting support from audiences across India. Also, I hope that in the process, non-Hindi speaking audiences will also get to watch Marathi content. I want to bridge this gap between Marathi and Hindi projects.

Do you ever get upset by personal comments or criticisms related to your work?

I take all professional criticism very seriously, but personal criticism is something that doesn’t affect me at all, because that’s a stupid level of criticism.

In a recent interview you said that you had a mental breakdown after losing your father. Are you feeling better?

That interview came much later. But right now I am fine. I have a lot of work, and all those thoughts are now behind me. Everyone is healthy and happy. At home, everyone in my family is fine. We are back on our feet again.

Gashmeer has worked in films like ‘Carry On Maratha’ and ‘Deool Band’. He has also been a part of ‘Imlie’.