Actor Makarand Deshpande, who starred in Swades alongside one Shah Rukh Khan many moons ago, doesn’t have kind words for Bollywood. The seasoned theatre star, known for his comedic performances, will appear as an individual with a mental condition in Mukesh Jadhav’s psychological thriller and has taken this occasion to point out Bollywood’s inherent laziness when it comes to important issues.
Actor Makarand Deshpande, who starred in Swades alongside one Shah Rukh Khan many moons ago, doesn’t have kind words for Bollywood. The seasoned theatre star, known for his comedic performances, will appear as an individual with a mental condition in Mukesh Jadhav’s psychological thriller and has taken this occasion to point out Bollywood’s inherent laziness when it comes to important issues.
Ask him about Bollywood’s handling of the issue of mental illness and the actor doesn’t mince his words. The 50-year-old, known for being extremely choosy about the projects he picks, says: “Bollywood hasn’t done a good job” in its depiction of mental disorders. “We have a habit of not showing people the real picture.”
His new film, however, is an attempt to right that wrong. Talking about the film’s story, Deshpande said recently, “The movie has three brothers played by Shreyas, Rahul Dev and me. My character, Jahan, is a mentally challenged character who is the youngest brother. I have never played a character like this, it is intense and loving.”
Deshpande is also not a fan of social media and unlike mainstream Indian movie stars who spend a great deal of time on various social media platform, the actor feels the web “is a place of concern”. Explaining his rather unique viewpoint, Deshpande says, “Because of social media, everyone criticises everything in general. This is so alarming. Everybody wants to have an opinion about everything, and that’s not necessary. It adds to the disturbance.”
