TOI: There is no need for boldness - Pawan

Actor Pawan Shankar's film Mr Bhatti On Chutti with Anupam Kher went unnoticed but he's still enjoying the attention that comes with his daily soap.

Pawan has done serials like Siddhant and Vicky Ki Taxi in the past, but he shot to fame withKya Hua Tera Vaada, in which he plays the role of Pradeep Singh who cheats on his wife. "The other characters I've played in serials were very strong and defined. Pradeep's character is absolutely spineless but then such men exist. Throughout the serial, we intend to discourage the infidelity," he says. Lately serials have been going bold. "But not us," Pawan says, adding, "The subject of the serial itself is very bold. There is no need for any more boldness. Besides, the attempt of getting bold failed for Bade Achhe Lagte Hain so there definitely won't be any such attempt for our show."

When asked why his last film didn't fare too well, the actor doesn't mince words. "Wasn't it obvious? The film was shelved for too long and let's be honest - nobody likes a stale product," he says. Pawan is now looking forward to Anubhav Sinha's film Rajdhani Express where he is cast opposite Nandana Sen. He says, "The subject of the film is interesting and it has an ensemble cast. It was great working with the likes of Shabana Azmi, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Anupam Kher." Pawan is quite clued into the Marathi film industry. He is all praise for Marathi actress Priya Bapat.

"She is very beautiful and an excellent singer. Once while we were travelling, she sang Lata Mangeshkar's Lag Jaa Gale. I loved it so much that I recorded the song. This was quite sometime back but I still have the recording with me," he says with a smile.
Will his fans ever see him in a Marathi flick? "I will definitely do one Marathi film before I die and I will dedicate it to Raj Thackeray. I really admire and appreciate what he has done for Maharashtrians," he says. That Pawan has a political connection is known as his father Shyam Krishna Pande is a politician in Allahabad. Does Pawan too harbour any political ambitions? "Of course. Politics remains my first love and passion. Acting follows next," he says.