Subodh Bhave: Portraying Dr Kashinath Ghanekar's role was very challenging

The king of biopics of the Marathi film industry, Subodh Bhave has already hit the bullseye with films like, 'Lokmanya: Ek Yug Purush' and 'Balgandharva' in this genre. The actor is now all set to release his third film, a biopic 'Ani... Dr Kashinath Ghanekar' directed by Abhijeet Shirish Deshpande.
In a candid interview with the TimesOfIndia.com, Subodh Bhave spoke about his upcoming Marathi film and shared his experience with his debutant director, Abhijeet.Playing Ghanekar has been a delight for the actor as he has been a fan of his work. Subodh says, Dr Kashinath Ghanekar is a legend in the Marathi industry but is not very popular among the new generation. He admits that to play his role was his biggest challenge. He said, "I have done biopics before and this was very tough for me. Ghanekar had that substance in whatever he spoke and during the 1950-70's our Marathi theatre was booming because of just one man, and he was 'Dr Kashinath Ghanekar'. I was fortunate to get this film and to play such a huge role is a dream come true."
While speaking about his role as the legendary Dr Kashinath Ghanekar, he said, "It was a very challenging role and to play a real-life character on stage means people have to be convinced that you are that person. When Abhijeet approached me with the script, I went through each and every line to know more about Ghanekar. I know that Abhijeet was making his debut with this biopic, but he had done detailed research. I went through the script and could understand that Ghanekar's life was very tough his struggles. So, to play his role, I had to convince myself that I was that person. However, on-screen, you have to look at the character and even then only 50% of the work is done. It is a difficult task.”
Talking about getting under the skin of his character and nailing his look, Bhave said, “There are two common factors in all the biopics I have starred in so far. One, obviously is me and the second is my makeup artist Vikram Gaikwad. He managed to make me look the part and that’s where we win half the battle.”
While speaking on his experiences with a first time director, he said, "It was Abhijeet who inspired me to get deep in the character. He not only studied Ghanekar's life in depth but he got so engrossed that during the shoot, he was helping me to get that expressions and dialogues right. When he was convinced, it meant that the work was done. He was the backbone of the shoot. And he wrote this story fours year back."