Panchayat ke Binod ne zindagi badal di: Ashok Pathak
The actor says though he’s been around since 2011, the web show gave him his due. Memes for dialogue ‘Dekh raha hai Binod?’ was trending on social media
Actor Ashok Pathak, who shot to fame with his character Binod in Panchayat 2 (2022), says he has been part of a lot of meaningful projects, but the fame he got with this role is unparalleled.
Shooting for his next film in Lucknow, the Aarya 2 actor says, “I am in the industry since 2011 and have been part of several good projects, including Bittoo Boss (2012), 102 Not Out (2018) and Sacred Games but Binod ne zindagi badal di...sab pehchanne lage. Bahut mohabaat mil rahi hai aur yahi sabse badi daulat hai!”
The actor reveals that after doing a string of small roles, he is now being offered leading parts. “I have completed a British film, where I play the lead, and in another film, I play an antagonist which is a remake of a hit film from down South. I don’t know if I am getting work due to it (his role in Panchayat 2), but I am getting amazing projects. Many of them were like Binod, which I did not accept, as meri bhook rehti hai ki kuchh hat kar ho,” says the Fukrey Returns (2017) actor.
Pathak says that his earlier films did not translate into big success for him. “The best thing they did to me was that the industry got to know that kaam to achcha karta hai. I have completed a wonderful project CA Topper Tribhuvan Mishra with Mirzapur fame director Gurmeet Singh as showrunner and the film I am shooting in Lucknow has great actors. Besides, we have wrapped the shoot for Panchayat 3,” he says.
On his backstory, he says, “My father (Ram Naresh Pathak) was a daily wager, who lived in a village. I was poor in studies. On sifarish, I got admission in CRM Jat College for graduation but that changed my life. In the youth festival, I won the best actor award and we went on to win at the national level as well. I got awarded by (actor) Ashutosh Rana sir. My photo was everywhere (in the newspapers) which was a big deal and phir pariwar ne kaha... ‘Kar bhai jo bhi karna hai’.”
‘Sabse dil ke kareeb Lucknow hai!’
On having a strong connection with Lucknow, Pathak says, “We hail from Bihar, but I’m born and brought up in a village near Hissar (Haryana). I had applied for National School of Drama (NSD) twice, but could not succeed. Then, I applied for Bhartendu Natya Akademi (BNA) in 2007 and got through. After completing two years of course, with a scholarship, I did year-long internship.”
He adds, “Sabse dil ke kareeb Lucknow hai! Three years that I had spent here were adhbut. I got a lot of love from my mentors, theatre legend Prof Raj Bisaria sir, (Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai) actor Suryamohan Kulshreshtra sir and others including Arun Trivedi, Chitra Mohan and late Jugal Kishor. Mere career ki neev yahin mazboot hui as I always wanted to go to Mumbai but after proper studies and training. Here, I shot for my first film, Sanjeev Jaiswal’s Shudra The Rising (2012), Rangbaaz 3 (2022) and now Crash Boom Bang, directed by Abhishek Raj and Rajneesh Thakur.”
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