Manav Gohil: An actor, once and for all, is a hustler

Manav Gohil, currently seen in Dabangii—Mulgii Aayi Re Aayi, has been in the industry for over two decades now. Happy with the way his career has progressed, he said, “An actor once and for all is a hustler. He has to be a happy hustler. He cannot be a victim; if he were, he would be washed out.”

“Not everything is fair in life. You have to take it in stride and not be a victim waiting for compensation,” he added.

He feels that it is important for an actor to evolve with time and upgrade themselves to become relevant.

“It is extremely crucial to be relevant in the industry with time because relevance comes with different tools every five years. 7 years ago, Instagram wasn’t as huge as it is today. The social media boom has happened in the last few years. The relevance is that there is pressure when putting pictures up, which I am so bad at, but yes, I think being relevant is extremely important, and that is my biggest challenge. The way to keep something relevant is not my way, I am just an actor,” he said.

He, however, stressed that the addiction to social media is getting out of hand and has left him worried. “I will not complain if it crashes someday. I think it is getting too steep and too addictive. It sometimes worries me about the youth. In the last 4-5 years, the social media boom we have seen might affect the growth of the youth and in other spheres of life,” he said.

“It’s dangerous. The moment you give anyone a phone, the amount of time that goes on the screen directly deduct that much time from their life. It’s a virtual world, and you are out of the real world. Your EQ might sink in the years to come, that is my fear. Yet the fact is that it comes with enough phases, and we cannot deny that. I hope that there must be some kind of awareness for the kids to understand the way it hampers them,” he added.

Not everything is fair in life. You have to take it in stride and not be a victim waiting for compensation,

- Manav Gohil

Manav is one of the few actors on TV who has played a variety of roles on the medium. He calls himself lucky that he was able to experiment with his roles.

“I think the fire in the belly is reflected in the universe, I guess. There is no credit that I’d like to take on that. Whenever the good producers wanted to experiment, they reached out to me. I have done some fantastic pilots that have not come, some kickass ever made. I have been lucky, and if I were to take any credit, I have always wanted to continue to grow as an actor. That is something that I want to deliver to every character and not make it look like anything else I have already done. Also, make it look less like Manav and more like the character. I think these things put together have worked for me, and like I said, I have been fortunate with good fortune along the way,” he said.

While he is happy with the work opportunities OTT has created, Manav doesn’t believe that the platform has given any sort of competition to TV. “I don’t think OTT has given any competition to TV. When OTT came, there were speculations that TV might end, but I think India is such a vast country that there are consumers for all types of content. OTT has not dug into TV content, and TV is not in competition in terms of content, therefore, at this moment, they are coexisting,” he said.

“I am happy because OTT has come; it has given more opportunities to actors, and it has kind of diluted the wall between a TV actor and a film actor. Good actors, a good script, and fitting characters will work. Even DOPs, and writers mature to OTT stuff. With OTT coming in, I see it as good and not a competition. I am looking at it as an opportunity for the industry to create more content,” he added.

Manav also revealed that it’s his disciplined life that has helped him be in shape and healthy at this age. “I sleep at 9:30–10 p.m., and I am up by 4:30–5 a.m. Even if I had been a banker, I would have dedicated my time to fitness. I have always been into fitness, and I still play soccer and swim, so yes, I am very active and I love to be fit. I would have always been into fitness, even if I had not been an actor. I am a hardcore foodie, I love to eat,” he ended.