2017 started on a rom-com note with Prakash Electronics that stars Hemant Pandey, playing an electrician, who falls for Barkha played by Hrishitaa Bhatt. Harshit Nagpal chats up with the actors and director
Prakash Electronics… No it is not a fancy store in your neighbourhood selling electronic goods. It’s the title of recently released rom-com movie by director Manoj Sharma. A film, he claims, that will bring prakash (light) to the lives of many electricians out there who are looking for love.
The reason for the title of the movie stems from the fact that it is a story of an electrician. “There is no hidden meaning in the title. Instead this title will create curiosity among the audience. like the famous Gada Electronics in Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, we too created a brand — Prakash Electronic,” Sharma says.
After having worked on TV as Pandeyji in Office Office and done cameos in Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai, Tehnaa Hai Tere Dil Mein, Krrish, Ready, Hemant Pandey bags his first lead role in Prakash Electronics where he will be seen playing an electrician.
Talking about this character, Pandey tells you that Prakash is an innocent guy who fell head over heels in love with Barkha (Hrishitaa Bhatt). “He dreams of his relationship with her and how he makes efforts to win her heart is what the movie is about,” Pandey says.
Bhatt says that her character, Barkha, is completely opposite to what she is in real life. “I’m born and brought up in Mumbai unlike the character who is a small town girl dreaming of big things. But I am an actor and did manage to get into the skin of the role. I tried to imagine a scenario of one sided love and my character more interesting and believable,” Bhatt tells you who was never interested in acting But once the offers started coming in, she took up the roles she was offered and began her stint in the industry with Ashoka opposite Shah Rukh Khan.
“I got a call from director of Ashoka, Santosh Sivan saying that that he was making a film on Ashoka and wanted me to play the role of Ashoka’s wife. At the same time, I was offered Shararat on TV. I said yes to both just to explore. It was much later that I came to know who was playing Ashoka. That was when I knew that I would not back out of the project” Bhatt says.
Hemant, on the other hand, aspired to become an actor ever since he started watching Mahabharat and other Doordarshan shows. His dream come true 25 years ago and he gives credit to small screen that brought him into the limelight as a comedian and helped him to make his way to Bollywood. “I was walking in london and a person identified me and said ‘arrey baba Pandeyji’. Through TV, I managed to make a place for myself in the hearts of the people. When I go to a hotel or restaurant for lunch, people refuse to take money from me. This is what TV had made me,” Pandey says.
Interestingly, though the story is not based on the real life incident, the character of Prakash is inspired from a real person.
“The story is very relatable. We all have sometime called in an electrician for work. So Hemant and I met up with an electrician and studied his personality, his way of thinking and trying to find out what made his life interesting,” Sharma says.