Subodh Bhave

Grand projects, box-office successes, a risk taker and above all a #GameChanger! An acting career that boasts of playing the greatest characters from history, meet Subodh Bhave – an Actor, Director & Writer. Subodh has been instrumental in the scale of projects that have been executed in recent times in the Marathi theatre & film industry.  3 back-to-back celluloid hits. A theatre musical that pulled audiences of all age groups to the theatre and the scale of the film projects that has left many gasping at the sheer production levels and the success his projects have achieved. If that was not enough he is now a writer of a book that documents his 4 big time hit movies. A true GameChanger.  #creator #risktaker.

Would you say that you have arrived Subodh?
I have arrived since 1975!
I have always been an innately confident person. This is not boasting, it is just the way I have always been and will continue to be. I am confident of my abilities and capabilities and that is my biggest strength. Every person has his/her successful phase and I am fortunate to have experienced this in the past few years.

Do you/ have you set any goals for your personal & professional success?

You are going to be disappointed with my answer but NO. Have never every kept any personal or professional goals ever

‘ 0 (zero)’ is my Goal!
The reason being, that unless I do not become a zero, I will not be able to scale up in life at personal or professional front. To put it simply, when the mind is empty, the receptivity increases. It gives me tremendous energy to achieve the task that I have started and it then becomes my goal. Once that is over, I come back to my ‘O’ mental status again.

What is one misconception people have about you?

I am perceived to be a snob, arrogant person who hardly every smiles or does not know how to smile.
Being reticent in behavior, I am not a naturally gregarious person. I am happy with myself and do not feel the need to connect, communicate every time. If you observe, I rarely tweet or put pictures on instagram. It is nothing to do with me being not comfortable on social media. It is entirely to do with me ‘wanting’ to do it at that time. To feel the need to tweet anything particular or put my pics on instagram and that is spontaneous and sincere. When networking is the norm, I prefer to stay away from parties and get-togethers. For an actor to ‘be seen’ on special occasions is important but I have always shied away from it. This is certainly not because I am a snob, my work makes me happy and I revel in that space mentally. That is what gives me happiness and I do that which gives me that satisfaction.
What change do you foresee in the Marathi film industry in times to come?
Change does not happen overnight. It happens with a reason and is a continuous process. Change is provoked when something is not going right and that maybe one of the reasons why Marathi industry started changing after a lull and boring period sometime back. When the content and productivity were mediocre, the uplifting process began for survival. That is the reason that some interesting work has been happening in the industry for the past decade or so. It is a naturally collective effort wherein Producers, actors, technicians, studios etc have pooled in to make this change. The industry is already in the evolving process considering market conditions, advent of new age media such as digital content, Netflix etc. Marathi industry is resilient and will always find a way to grow bigger and better.

If a young actor walked up to you asking for your advice and you only had a few minutes to give them your best tip, what would it be?
My first question to him/her would be: ‘Will you die if you do not Act?’ if the answer is NO, then my friends do not linger here because you do not belong here. If the answer is YES then stay back and Welcome!’

Now let me explain why I say this. For me acting is like breathing. Breathing is what keeps one alive. If I do not act I will die. It is as simple as that. I am passionate about acting and that completes me. That makes me happy. To be able to act, I am willing to encounter any hardships because I know it is that is what is going to keep me happy and alive. This passion to do good acting keeps me alert and inquisitive and eager about life. It gives me a sense of fulfillment and immense pleasure. One should be able to do what he/she is passionate about and that will lead to excellence in output