Destiny eventually gives you what you deserve: Pawan Shankar

Prayagraj-lad Pawan Shankar, who made a sensational debut with TV show Siddhant (2004), feels his mega film break has come after 17 years

Prayagraj-lad Pawan Shankar, who made a sensational debut with TV show Siddhant (2004), feels his mega film break has come after 17 years. Playing a Pakistani intelligence officer in Bhuj: The Pride of India, the actor is happy that he got his due and is raring for more.

Bhuj: The Pride of India actor Pawan Shankar on his visit to Lucknow. (Deep Saxena/HT)

On his visit to Lucknow, the Kasam Se actor says, “In 2009, I had shot for Anubhav Sinha’s film Rajdhani which unfortunately got shelved. My big film break has happened after all these years, but destiny eventually gives you what you deserve! The film was seen across the world and has got me a positive response from the who’s who of the industry.”

Summing up his journey, he says, “It’s a very tough industry out there! Despite playing lead in hit TV shows such as Aisa Desh Hai Mera, Vicky Ki Taxi and Kya Hua Tera Vada I could not get a film break. However, I am grateful to maker Anurradha Prasad and director Abhinav Kashayap who gave me Siddhant which went to International Emmy Awards and Bhuj… director Abhishek Dudhaiya who showed confidence in me.”

His last TV show was Guddan Tumse Na Ho Payega (2019) as a negative lead. “I shot for this show after a gap of six years as I was nurturing some personal projects. For now, I don’t want to do TV. Good roles are coming for OTT shows but now, after this film, people are seeing me in a different light and the quality of roles being offered too is very different.”

Shankar is soon starting shooting for an OTT series in which he plays the lead. “It’s based on the 1993 Bombay blasts, and I am playing a cop who ignores an important alert as insignificant info. For 17 years he lives in guilt and then a new drama unfolds. It’s a very interesting subject that we will start shooting in a week. Besides, I got back in the ad industry with a seven-part series for a global leading brand.”

The actor hints that he will be doing a film also based on the India-Pakistan conflict that took place a few years back.

Paired opposite Nora Fatehi, he shot for Bhuj… before and after the lockdown. “A major part of the shooting was done before the 2020 lockdown and the remaining patchwork was shot in Hyderabad in December. Then in July, as per the need of the story, my opening scene of conversation with the general was added later,” he adds.