Growing up, actor Akshay Kelkar had decided that he wanted to be an art director. The Crime Patrol actor went on to become an assistant art director in the Marathi film industry. However, a few years later, the Kamala actor decided to discover his potential in front of the camera. After College Cafe (2017), Akshay will be now seen in the Sonali Kulkarni starrer, Madhuri. “This film has everything a newcomer like me could wish for. To start with, it is directed by Swapna Waghmare Joshi. Secondly, it has stars like Sonali and Sharad Kelkar. And, lastly, it has Urmila Matondkar as the presenter,” says the actor.
Akshay shares a fun incident he had with his director, where he had approached her a few years ago. “Swapna ma’am is genuinely a nice person. I told her how she ignored me on social media and never responded to my messages. We are friends now. She makes every actor feel comfortable,” he says.
Akshay shares a great equation with Sonali. So, did it translate off screen too? “To be honest, she is a gem of a person. She praised my reading during the workshops and I was so thrilled about that. She never burdened us with her star status. In fact, she always gave us room to explore and experiment,” he adds.
The actor has appeared in a few web series and is looking forward to working in all mediums. “I won’t be lying if I say that I am still struggling. I went through a horrible phase in 2017, where I lost a big project. I am glad that I moved on, and now, I am keen on doing good and substantial work,” he concludes.