The emperor of Indian TV

Mohit Raina, television’s “Mahadev” is back on the small screen as Emperor Ashoka and he is all geared up to set another benchmark in the history of television

How is it working with Contiloe?
It’s my first project with them. It has been a great experience so far. Abhimanyu is a very good friend of mine. They are not typical producers. This show is something, which I always wanted to be a part of.

You will be seen on TV after 11 months, why did you choose the role of Ashoka as your comeback show?
The journey of the character intrigued me. There is a lot of scope as a performer. The role presents various shades. Roles like these are not written easily as they take the time to build up. The audience too takes time for accepting these kinds of characters because they always compare it with the history. But in this scenario, Contiloe has written well and the audience too accepted it. So it’s win-win situation for me. I wanted to be part of this show from the day this show started.

Will you be able to break your image as Mahadev?
Obviously yes. But it’s going to take some time though, because the audience has watched me as Lord Shiva for 4-5 years on the screen. In ‘Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat’, the story took a leap with my peregrination. And it has been only two weeks so far. Hence, one has to give a month or two for the audience to get calibrated with my presence in the show.

How is the transition as you had grey shades in ‘Devon Ke Dev Mahadev’ too?
It’s always difficult for an actor to be a part of character’s journey, as this story doesn’t commence with me. So you have to adopt the character. I have gone through a lot of hurdles initially. And I’m still trying to understand the character. Maybe very soon I will mould myself in the role completely. For now, I’m trying to get into the skin of the character. Once I completely get into it then I will get to know what actually people want from me as Ashoka.

Siddharth Nigam portrayed the boyhood of Ashoka and he was appreciated very much for the role. Do you feel pressurised to perform better than him?
I won’t call it as pressure. It is something that keeps you on your toes as you have to fulfill the expectations of the makers and audience alike. He solely carried 400 episodes on his shoulders and undoubtedly you have to take the responsibilities on your shoulders and carry the show forward with same or more élan.

In the show, we are seeing the merciless avatar of Ashoka. What is your take on this?
Well, he is not completely merciless and selfish. It is just the circumstances that made him like that. Ashoka has undergone so emotional trauma and he has become something which he is not. He is now very hard, strong and cold-hearted as of now. He is like this because he knows that his father Samrat Bindusar didn’t do justice with him. So rather than calling him as a merciless person, I quote “He doesn’t believe in humanity at this point in time and he is in a shell.”

How does it feel to play a warrior prince?
It’s another dimension of the character. And in my previous show, the role is a character, which based on people’s perception. For instance, some people believe in him and some don’t. But Ashoka’s role is from the pages of Indian history. I learned sword fighting and horse riding for Ashoka. When you play Mahadev, you can’t say that God is wrong, because down the line people also realise that he is correct. But here Ashoka is a human, so of course he does commit mistakes and repent for the same. This is just another phase of my life as an actor.

You always wanted to play larger than the life roles, but as an actor don’t you want to see yourself in other genres?
Not at this point in time. I realised that there is no much scope for performance in daily soaps. When it comes to mythology and history dramas, you can do a lot of stuff. If you are an experimental person, you would choose these types of shows. Because every day you won’t get a chance to hold sword in your hand, ride a horse, kill bad people and be a part of the history. Right now I’m hooked to this. But you never know maybe tomorrow I may do some light-hearted drama series.

How are you in your real life?
I’m a very boring person. Maybe that is why I take these types of characters. My jovial nature is deep buried in me.

By:Abhyudaya Karamchetu