New Age Mythological hero: Sumedh acts as Krishna at a young age

Sumedh Mudgalkar dazzles as Krishna in the serial "RadhaKrishn". This good-looking young boy is talented and superb as Krishna. Playing god is not easy but Sumedh is so effortless in playing it elegantly and gracefully displaying a kaleidoscope of emotions. It's not just his acting but his diction too is spot on. He shares a crackling chemistry with Mallika Singh who plays Radha. Both of them have been delighting the viewers since two years with their exceptional performance in the serial. One caught up with Sumedh for an interview where he throws light on the character and serial and the two-year journey.

Were you interested in acting since childhood as you were interested in dance? Did you participate in any plays in school or college?

Actually I wanted to become an actor but I never knew what becoming an actor is like. Initially I was attached to becoming a star like every other kid wants to be. This was when I was in 4th--5th std. After that I got an opportunity to act in a play. I remember (laughs) I denied doing the main character because it had too many lines, because I never knew acting has all this. I eventually did a small part in the play. It happened long back. After that I wanted to get into dancing. Some people appreciated me for my dance at that stage. I started working on it. My dad and family supported me. Then I participated in competitions.

I read that you watched videos and picked up your own dancing style. So did you do anything like that for films? Did you watch people act?

Yes. That was the only way I could learn. I did a show and some projects after dancing and got into acting. I started exploring acting a bit and later on I realised whatever we are doing is just acting, getting paid and becoming a bigger star. There is a different angle to it. I definitely worked hard to get into this. I realised there is a next stage to go forward. You can act 90 per cent. The 10 per cent of the margin needs to be covered which actually gives you satisfaction, which is your passion and your hundred per cent commitment to the work, exploring certain new things and making certain things interesting for you which will take you to the next level. I was around 18-19 at that time. That was the time I realised this. I had nothing at my place where I was living. I was not with my family as I was in Mumbai. I used to watch at least 4 movies with wifi. I started by seeing one actor's 2-3 movies and few more just to see how they acted, what is their portrayal and how different it is in every movie – why is the character so famous, what is his hard work and what are the skills which people usually miss to see and he has to understand. So that's how I started. I actually realised there is a lot to learn. After "RadhaKrishn" started in 2018 I have learnt a lot of things.

You didn't really go through any acting course like many people do?

At the beginning of any project there is a workshop. That's not enough. You learn acting by your own self. Acting is in you. Nobody else can teach that. You have to understand and feel. You can say the lines as you are asked to say but until and unless you explore it, feel it, are able to take it to some other level and do something new till then nobody really likes what you do.

How did you feel when you were offered the role of Krishna? You were probably 20-21 at that time?

I didn't believe that actually (laughs). Everyone used to call me for negative characters. Even Swastik (Productions) called me for a negative character initially. I gave the audition for the negative character and then they cast me in Krishna's role. I wondered whether I was being called for Krishna's role. I was in a shock and was not ready to believe that these people want me as Krishna.

Did it sink in later?

When we got on the floor and I started shooting but I was sceptical about their decision that they want me as Krishna. Siddharth Sir had faith in me. He was the only person who had a strong faith in me. Then I realised that the person who is making such a good project is having faith in me, why am I not having faith in myself. That's when I started working on myself.

You had some time before the shoot. How did you prep yourself for this role?. Did you read books on Krishna, or the Bhagavad Gita or did you see earlier serials made on Krishna?

I didn't watch all the complete Krishna serials but little glimpses of every Krishna that was played, the most famous one by Bannerjee Sir (Sarvadaman Banerjee), Nitish Bharadwaj, Meghan Jadhav to Sourabh Raaj Jain, Swapnil Joshi. I watched them and I wanted to do something they didn't do. Everybody has portrayed Krishna completely and perfectly and how do I do something different from others was the biggest question. So I just went to ISCKON to make myself realise how big a responsibility I have got, which I realised after going to the temple. Then I started reading a book to understand what kind of thought processes Krishna might have. I did not read completely but a little part. It was "Krishna:The Man and his philosophy" by Osho. I started meditating for some time. I started playing bansuri (flute). I put in little bit of efforts which got me close to the character of Krishna.

How did it feel to play this divine character at such a young age?

It feels very different. It changes you as a person. It makes you very calm inside. It makes you little different from what you are. Sometimes it feels very lighter for me at least. When you feel that strong aura of yourself on screen this feels really good.

You have got into the skin of the character and you play it with effortless ease, elegance and conviction. How do you do so? What's the kind of effort that you put in?

The whole effort for this is to first understand what character you are playing. What is the ground of the character, where he came from? These are the kind of things – the 5 Ws. When you get closest to the character, the more you understand the character, the more you feel it, the more people relate to it. Krishn is everything. He is elegant, he is beautiful and he is very naughty. You should connect to the character and whatever the character is it will appear that way. If an actor plays a negative character and he displays those clues the people will see that.

You play the mischievous and the divine side of this character easily. So how challenging is it to do so?

It's very challenging as there is a life going completely different from what's going on in the show. There is Sumedh, there is Krishn – two different things. You have to see your life and the other life also. Most of the times if you are in a mood, it does not mean that mood also should be in your life. That's somewhere you find it difficult to connect. For example, if you are not in a good mood that day you are playing a naughty Krishn, so it takes a little toll. So just be happy and give hundred per cent and vice versa. The serious thing is very difficult. The serious Krishna in "Mahabharat" is different and difficult to portray. Besides, it feels lighter to play the naughty Krishna in Vrindavan.

Is it also because you could relate to the character rather than Krishna in the "Mahabharata" who is more serious and philosophical?

Everybody has a kid inside them and I prefer being a kid most of the time. Being serious is because Krishna established "dharma". It's not that lot of things happened in "Mahabharata", which Krishn never wanted them but because it was his destiny so it happened. Things are very different when it went on to "Mahabharata". You have to portray. When people have faith in you, you have to give hundred per cent regardless of your doubts.

You have a very calm and serene face, which is aptly suited for this role. How do you maintain this serenity and calmness?

Before action I just take a deep breath and breathe out. That's all I do. I just calm myself down. You have to be calm, you have to feel what the character is feeling – what Krishn is feeling. It was difficult in the beginning. After two years it is better. I think my portrayal could be better in many places. Everyone will feel so about their portrayals.

That is in retrospect...

Sumedh smiles

How is it playing Krishna now for two years plus and more than 500 episodes?

Initially I used to connect with the character. I used to feel the emotions as a person, I used to be more emotional. By the end of the day you have to live life like Sumedh. You have to learn from Krishn, you cannot be Krishn. So you have to disconnect from what you are portraying, you have to be yourself in your life you cannot try imitate Krishn, be like Krishn, think like Krishn. You have to learn to keep yourself away. I am still learming, I am a little better now.

Your diction is perfect. How did you work on this especially the Sanskrit "shlokas"?

We have a team. They help me a lot. My family is a Vaishnav Brahmin family. I didn't get into Sanskrit 'shlokas' but I have an idea of the pronunciation. I have heard these in my house but here there is a team who helps out with the diction.

There is profound philosophy in the "Mahabharata", particularly in the "Bhagavad Gita". Have you imbibed any of this? What are the takeaways from this role?

There are lot of things from the "Mahabharata" and Krishna's Gita gyaan which you can learn and make yourself a complete and better human being. To be honest that is a very divine knowledge. I am not at that level to imbibe all those things right now. There's one thing which I try to do. I do my deed and try not to care about what I will get in return. I just do and do not want to think about what I get. Even if I get or do not get I will work and find the happiness in what you are doing. Work on your deeds. "Karm karte jao, phal ki chinta mat karo" (do your deeds but don't think about the result). This is what I truly believe in. There are a lot of things you can imbibe but I need to have that strong willpower and mindset to change. Now it is not that much. After this show ends I will get some time to look back and think what I have learnt and what I missed learning and will focus on it then. There are big things to learn from Krishna "gyaan" there is a limit to accept and adapting things.

For certain things there is a certain age also to imbibe this kind of philosophy...

I began early. Its better we learn. There is a certain stage and time and before that nothing happens.

Both you and Mallika are exceptionally brilliant in your portrayals and your crackling chemistry is really superb. How do you achieve this?

I think we have learned respect for each other. We have a lot of respect for those who work for "RadhaKrishn". The whole team works really well together. It all adds up during the scenes and just makes the scenes much much better. I have respect for Mallika, for the hardwork she has done. She is a very good human being, very hard working actor as well. All these things add up. When you respect each other and respect each other's work and you are out there performing everybody wants you to perform well, everybody looks up to Sumedh and Mallika that they will give their best possible in this show. Mallika and I feel responsible and it's our responsibility to give our hundred per cent. So we work hard and everybody supports, and it just adds on.

Is it also because of your friendship off-screen? Does it also add to this?

Definitely. Mallika and I are very good friends. There are not a lot of friends in my life with whom I can perform very comfortably. We are definitely good friends but what helps us to perform well is the respect what we have for each other, the admiration we have for each other as actors. Because on screen what will appear will be what you perform. When Mallika and I go on the sets people want us to give our best. We feel we shouldn't let them down.

You have a large fan base and you keep them updated constantly. How do you handle trolling and negativity?

I just realised that people do troll. I think about the bigger stars in the industry who have a name and even these people get trolled. Unless and until I don't feel myself that I am doing the right thing I won't believe. If I get trolled for the wrong thing I will accept that, if I am trolled for doing the right thing, for working hard then I do not have to do anything. If there is any troll out there who says something bad, people around me, the fans who love me will handle him or her.

Does negativity affect you?

It does. It affects everybody. It's not always that you can also deal with them properly. All you can do is understand that negative people will come. Things change when life starts entering the fame world or you start earning a lot of money or start working. Life changes when all these things start happening. One has to understand. If one cannot understand then one has to calmly observe what's happening. Radhakrishn gave us a good boost in a small span of time. I don't want to be a person who does wrong, who thinks wrong. There are certain flaws in everybody. Even I have certain flaws. I try to work on it, sometimes it takes a toll. Playing Shrikrishn is a big responsibility, people look forward to you as one has to be ideal. It is tough sometimes.

How do you maintain this positivity all the time?

It's not like I maintain positivity all the time. I take a break whenever it's necessary. I do something which makes me happy. I cut off whenever necessary. I deleted the insta app from my phone, twitter. I just have whatsapp in my phone right now and that's what I am using now. So, I take certain breaks that keeps me a little peaceful.

So, its detox time...

Yes, detox is important.

You are constantly updating your fan base with lots of pictures or sayings some "gyaan", words of wisdom. How do you do this? What makes you do this?

I write down my experiences. If I feel there is something I can share. Everybody has problems in life which they can't share with everybody. What is the end product is the experience and I write it down and somehow present it. I have been looking at my fans and they say they are inspired by the captions (to photos) or what I write, the way I write. They love it and want it. It makes me feel that whatever I am doing is not a wrong thing.

How do you strike a balance between shooting as an actor and leading a normal life?

I don't think so it is a normal life. It is but things change. One can do anything anywhere, anytime any place. That is something I cannot do now. Like chill around, wear anything and walk, play anything, one does not have to appear good and one has to say the right thing possible. I try to maintain the child inside me. That is something which is the most important part. All one wants is to be a kid that jokes around, be a mastikhor. We cannot be because of the surroundings. I just try to be that, I just try to find 4 people who are my people and I want to chill with them and be my own.

So, do you do not feel it restrictive or inhibiting your freedom?

No. Things are the way they are. If I think I am being restricted because of these things I will not be able to do anything. What I think is this is the place where I feel I can be myself completely. In that way it becomes easier.

You have done films in Marathi and serials as well on television. Would you like to continue to act in both these formats?

Yeah. For me it is not about language, it is more about the project. The level of acting, the level of performance I want to achieve and it all depends on the chances I get, the roles I get, the stories I get to be a part of. If it comes in Marathi, Hindi or whatever language it is I will be open.

How do you unwind? What are your pastimes? What do you like to do?

I like to play games. I am a big time play station fan. So I play a lot of games when I get time. Sometimes I write. Sometimes I read books. It's not fixed every time.

What kind of books are you interested in reading?

There are certain books which make me feel that I am learning something which are more useful. They are not story based. What I like to read is the subtle art of not giving up, "Krishna – The Man and his Philosophy"' (by Osho), a book on Chanakya. There are certain kinds of books which I like reading, I don't read them much, just bits and pieces, just like for some time I distract myself because I have got lots of things to learn from my shoot.

How has the bonding been on the sets with your co-stars and what has been the experience of shooting "RadhaKrishn" for the last two years?

Everybody with whom I have started this journey is always special and will always be very special. We have seen everything from scratch and anybody who is with you from the scratch may see the special journey as beautiful. They see your journey, you see theirs. So everyone from the start to the end are very special. Besides, Radhakrish team works in harmony. Everybody supports each other and everybody helps each other. There is good team work. So it has been a very pleasant experience. I do not know what future beholds but right now we are very happy.

Are you happy with your career trajectory now? How has your journey been?

It has been good, I am happy about it. I don't know what's going to happen in future. So I am just being ready for whatever comes by. I don't know what I will do in future, I just have to stay ready for it.

How have your parents supported you?

They have always been supportive. So supportive that at the age of 15 I left for an audition. They let me go on my own without being worried, without stopping me. They have always supported me and that's the reason why I am here, why I can stand on my own feet.

Do they advise you when you are acting or in retrospect?

They told me when you decide what you want to do you go and do it. It's your life and you will understand what's right and wrong. You will understand what you should do. That's all they told me.

What would you want to do after playing Krishn when "Radhakrishn" ends?

I would like to do something different.

Do you have any underlying philosophy?

You never understand everything, be ready for learning something new. Nothing is fixed in life. What is fixed is already there with you and will stay with you. Assume that nothing is fixed in life and just move forward.

By RADHIKA RAJAMANI