Veteran actor Daya Shankar Pandey is thrilled to be a part of 'Bhamashah', a teleplay retelling the story of a legendary philanthropist, warrior and advisor to Maharana Pratap. He is popularly known for his stint as a Mumbai cop in the daily series Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma (TMKOC) on Sab TV and several Bollywood movies.
The Zee Theatre presentation delineates how Bhamashah supported the Maharana with strategic advice and his own wealth in the battles against the Mughals. Pandey said," I am glad that 'Bhamashah' has now been archived for posterity because theatre has a very limited audience, whereas a teleplay will reach a vast number of people. It will always be available to anyone who wants to revisit this story."
Pandey has played a variety of roles in his career but the character of Bhamashah is very close to his heart. He says, "I worked a lot on my Rajasthani dialect to get the delivery right. I rehearsed a lot for over two months with all the actors. I believe that when the rehearsals go well, the play also turns out well. This credit for my performance also goes to my director as he pushed not just me but all of us to do better. I also have fond memories of the late Om Puri who gave the voice-over for the play and was a very humble person and a great artist. He was very considerate and helped everyone."
Pandey started his career in films with Ashutosh Gowarikar in 1993 and also worked in many of his films. Recalling those early days, he added " I have learnt a lot of things from Ashutosh and his superb creativity. He has always been ahead of his time and 'Lagaan' and 'Jodha Akhbar' are iconic movies."
As someone who made his small screen debut with 1994's show 'Tehkikaat' and is now working in OTT series and teleplays, Pandey has seen multiple changes in story-telling formats and says, "Television is a very challenging medium because it is bound by urgent deadlines and teleplays are adding a new dimension to how stories are told. That a story like 'Bhamashah' can now be adapted from stage into a teleplay, is very interesting and adds a new chapter to small screen entertainment."
He also believes that theatre may face many challenges but it will always have an audience and a space for actors to rediscover themselves. He says, " Theatre is a place where we can experiment, grow, learn and improvise and all actors should experience this magic once. "
The filming director of 'Bhamashah' is Vikram Nath Gupta and also stars Manoj Shah and Dharmendra Govil.
Also Read: "Actors will come and go, but there will be only one Om Puri," says TMKOC fame Daya Shankar Pandey
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