Govind Namdev revisits time when no one offered work after Shola Aur Shabnam: Isse, usse udhaar liya

While many actors earned their names as the heroes, Govind Namdev made everyone believe he was the new face of evil. He played the corrupt inspector in his debut film Shola Aur Shabnam. Alumni of the National School of Drama of India, the actor landed in Mumbai in 1990 in search of work.

In a conversation with Hindustan Times, Govind looked back and revealed his hesitation as a newbie in the industry. “I hoped that I didn’t have to make an unnecessary compromise in the industry after earning a name in theatre. I just didn’t want to hamper my reputation.”

No one knew the actor during his initial years of struggle in Bollywood. The pressure on him eased a little bit when he bagged his first project Shola Aur Shabnam, but it was just the tip of an iceberg he was about to hit. “I was happy to see that the audience liked me in Shola Aur Shabnam. After the film’s release, I started getting a lot of casting offers but all of them were for the role of inspector.”

The actor refused to don the cop uniform again. But why? He shared, “During the Shola Aur Shabnam shoot, I was once sitting with my co-star Mahavir Shah (who appeared as inspector Mahadev in the film). He told me ‘do you know this is my 32nd film as an inspector? Mujhe koi aur role nahin milta.’ He even had a uniform stitched. I was shocked and told him ‘kya baat kar rahe ho’. I knew about being typecast in films and all. But, reality triggered me. I felt like ‘kahi main na phas jau iss chakkar mein’. Ek dum se dar lag gaya.”

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While Govind remained adamant about not repeating the same role in his future films, he kept getting offers. “I refused GP Sippy to Rajan Kothari. They scolded me and said ‘but, you just came. You shouldn’t reject films.’ After I rejected 2-3 more offers, rumours started spreading about me. Although I explained myself, people called me an egoist. They said ‘he is new and kisi ko bhi reject kar deta hain.’ Later, people stopped asking me for films. No one offered me work. Once I started visiting sets and asking for work, people said the same thing, ‘we have one role but it’s an inspector’. This is how it went on for almost two years and I was restless’,” he said.

“I was under pressure. I shifted with my family to Mumbai. So, I managed to run my household by doing some theatre workshops and other gigs. Isse udhar lia, use udhar lia aur time nikala,” he recalled tough days in Mumbai. Amid this, director Bharat Rangacharya came to Govind’s rescue and offered him his TV serial, Parivartan. “I told Bharat sir that there are things I won’t do and serial is one of them. He just told me to meet him for a narration before making any decision.”

“He offered me to play the main lead of a 65-year-old, Hasmukh Ajmera and I was just 38-39. I was surprised. In a way, I was looking for a job helplessly, but I also feared being typecast into senior roles. I went home and shared the entangled situation with my wife. We concluded that I should take this up, at least to establish myself as an actor. I invested everything in myself for the character and during Parivartan, I was offered Bandit Queen by Shekhar Kapur,” the 68-year-old revealed with a smile.

Govind Namdev will be seen in OMG 2, Woh Ladka Hai Kahan? And Alien Frank.