I owe a lot to Bangalore: Manish Gandhi

You’ve all seen him in the Airtel ad and he’s definitely a face that most people recognise instantly — but few know the name of this young upcoming actor who is quite the celebrity within theatre circles across the country.

“I began acting at a very young age and knew I was cut out for the field. Surprisingly, I was given the opportunity to direct at a very young age, too and post graduation, I worked extensively with the Board of Education, Chandigarh conducting a Theatre in Education program. It was through that medium that I began directing plays, often favouring musicals,” opens Manish as we catch up with him over the phone.

Manish has dabbled in cinema ever since he burst onto the scene a few years ago, but fate has always played a cruel game, either postponing his releases or complicating projects as they begin. “It’s not funny when I think of the number of times I have been replaced at the last moment and while I am patient, I keep wondering what went wrong. Yet, offers keep pouring in for roles in ads and serial and the occasional movie here and there — so, I’m really not complaining,” he tells us.

Juggling with a career in the arts, with projects in theatre and ads and TV serials, Manish has managed to stay a popular face with the media in general. “I recently completed a few episodes with Crime Patrol on Sony TV, I Love My India on SAB, where I played a cameo character called Aeroplane and an episode of Gumrah on Channel V. What makes me laugh is how I am always stereotyped as the good boy who goes terribly bad,” he laughs and adds.

With young looks that make Manish seem like he’s 21, the 25-year-old actor is also one of the few actors who has to deal with the non-stop taunt of being ‘too young’. “People don’t believe I am 25 and often I have been told at auditions that I look too young. I am probably the only person who faces this sort of discrimination,” Manish ridicules himself.

Theatre and acting apart however, Manish holds a dear connect to Bangalore. “I was in Bangalore for a long time and I love how the city accepted me. The city loves its art and bends backwards to support artistes and that’s why I love it. I worked with Nritarutya and Jagriti at different times and they didn’t charge me a rupee.

For an upcoming artiste like me, that’s a huge deal. The luck continued when I also attended a workshop at Adishakti in Pondicherry for free. The South loves art and that is inspiring to any artiste. It makes us strive to do more and learn and never put boundaries on our individual art. I owe a lot to Bangalore,” he explains.

More recently, Manish was in the limelight for directing a play called COCK, written by Mike Bartlett. The play was performed in Mumbai quite a few times, but Manish is dying to bring the play to Bangalore. “I always wanted to premiere a play of mine at Ranga Shankara and I still am in awe of that space. I hope to bring COCK to Bangalore soon, but need sponsors to help me out with the expenses. The play will definitely be a hit in Bangalore as it deals with characters that I’ve always placed in Bangalore. I hope to bring the play there soon and would invite any help in any form,” he shares.

The chat could go on, but we’re running out of time and so we close asking him about his film Rizwan, based on a play of the same name written by Bangalore’s very own Abhishek Majumdar. “The film’s been ready for a while and is a government funded film produced by a film institute. I’ve been told it’s being held up by the censor board, but I am not too sure, what I do know is that it’s touring festivals across the world and we’ll soon definitely hear some good news about the film,” he concludes.
romal.singh@dnaindia.net