Ever since Sumedh Vasudev Mudgalkar played Lord Krishna in RadhaKrishn, life changed for him. Celebrating Krishna Janmashtami today, the actor shares how the festival has become more special to him now. “When Janmashtami comes, people message me on Instagram ‘Happy Birthday’. People shower so much love and tell me ‘aapke kaam mein hamein Shri Krishna dikhte hain’. The world makes me feel at times that Janmashtami is my second birthday,” he says.
Ask the actor how he used to celebrate the festival growing up and he responds, “It was all about unsuccessful attempts of trying to break the dahi handi as I was really bad at it. But there used to be dance competitions around the same festive time and I would participate in them. That gave me a lot of opportunities.”
The 27-year-old played the role of Lord Krishna on screen for five years in RadhaKrishn, and he calls the opportunity “a blessing I was looking for”. He says, “The most challenging part was to do justice to the character. Lord Krishna is like an ocean, and you need to genuinely dive into the character and forget yourself for a while. It’s like swimming in bliss,” adding, “I went to ISKCON temple in Pune just to make myself aware of the responsibility I had as an actor, and when I went there, I felt the weight of it. I also read the book Krishna: The Man and his philosophy by Osho to understand him. If you tell someone to play Lord Krishna, they will have a sweet smile on their face and they will speak very calmly, but why is it like that? Why is that smirk and beautiful charm on his face? I needed to understand where it comes from and truly get it and not just pretend.”
{{/usCountry}}The 27-year-old played the role of Lord Krishna on screen for five years in RadhaKrishn, and he calls the opportunity “a blessing I was looking for”. He says, “The most challenging part was to do justice to the character. Lord Krishna is like an ocean, and you need to genuinely dive into the character and forget yourself for a while. It’s like swimming in bliss,” adding, “I went to ISKCON temple in Pune just to make myself aware of the responsibility I had as an actor, and when I went there, I felt the weight of it. I also read the book Krishna: The Man and his philosophy by Osho to understand him. If you tell someone to play Lord Krishna, they will have a sweet smile on their face and they will speak very calmly, but why is it like that? Why is that smirk and beautiful charm on his face? I needed to understand where it comes from and truly get it and not just pretend.”
{{/usCountry}}Sumedh's portrayal brought him closer to his audience who saw the almighty’s shadow in him. Recalling some of his most memorable interactions with fans, he shares, “There was a lady who tried killing herself twice, she was a mother of two and depressed. But she told me she got out of it after watching the show and it helped her. There was a person I met who was disabled and not happy with life but watching the show transformed her from within.”
Sharing how playing Lord Krishna on screen changed him, the actor says, “I became a very soft person internally while playing Lord Krishna. I still can’t comprehend the changes that have happened inside me, but the people around me agree that I have got much better as a person. I am better at dealing with situations, much more sensitive than before and much kinder. The name of Lord Krishna will always be associated with me, my name and my conscience.”