TV actor Mahesh Shetty on debuting with ‘Banjo’

Mahesh Shetty is a television actor that many will be familiar with. He recently made his B-town debut in ‘Banjo’ which starred Riteish Deshmukh and Nargis Fakhri and has spoken about why he chose that particular film to start his big screen journey with.

“Casting director Mukesh Chhabra was casting for the film. He told me there is a role for me. He shared with me the uniqueness of the role, post which I met Ravi Jadhav. He briefed me about the story, which is based on street musicians of Mumbai who plays Banjo. It was the journey of street musicians which is not known to many of us. Ravi had seen my work in television and he was convinced that I could do it. If the director is convinced then most of the battle for an actor is won,” said Shetty in an interview with Box Office India.

Talking about whether he will now be juggling between the big and small screen going forward, he revealed, “I am glad someone has observed this and asked about it aloud. Thank you! This is something that has always happened in the West. You will always find the biggest of the movie stars doing a TV show as well if the storyline is good. Till sometime back, it was unheard of in India. Here, earlier there were clear lines dividing the medium of performance for every character/actor. However, the lines have blurred quite a bit. Whether it is Sharad, or Ram Kapoor or Ronit Roy, they have made some fantastic choices in cinema and have done some unforgettable roles on television.”

He went on to say, “Earlier the TV actors were thought to be overexposed because of daily airing of their shows. But now the casting directors, directors and producers have realized that TV acting is not the same as in movies and every actor comes with a skill set of more potential than he or she shows. So whether it is regional cinema, Hindi or TV or even theatre, an actor should be able to make an easy transition back and forth, without worrying that the doors would close if you choose one. I have always believed that the only lines that should matter to an actor are the ones given to him on the paper as a script and nothing else.”

‘Banjo’ released on 23rd September.