I am living a bairagee jeevan like Lord Shiva: Mohit Raina

Tellychakkar.com called me up to be the guest editor for an hour or two. And guess what? I realized that journalism is not at all easy. However, when I was asked to interview someone from the television fraternity, I could not think of any other name but actor Mohit Raina's, who is playing Lord Shiva in my show Devon Ke Dev… Mahadev on Life OK. So, in a candid chat with me, the guest editor of Tellychakkar.com, Mohit talks about his personal and professional life. Excerpts: Tell us something about yourself. How did you land up in the television industry? I hail from Jammu & Kashmir and I am a very simple guy. My cousins used to pull my legs saying, “Arrey yaar, tu toh hero ke tarah dikhta hai.” Then after graduation, I enrolled myself to become a Chartered Accountant and in the midst participated in Grasim Mr. India 2005. In the competition my name featured in the top five contestants. It all started from there and later I came to Mumbai. In the TV industry, I started off with Bhabhi, wherein I did a small stint and then moved on to be a part of Chehra and Ganga Ki Dheej. How did you bag the role of Lord Shiv in Mahadev? I am a Kashmiri Brahmin and have heard so many stories about Lord Shiva since my childhood. I can actually relate to him a lot. Furthermore, Jammu is also known for Ambernath Yatra. So when I heard that you are making a mythological show based on Lord Shiva, and I got the opportunity to play the God himself, I grabbed it with both hands. I knew you would do justice to the concept as you have tremendous experience in the genre. I did not want to lose the opportunity at any cost (smiles). Did you ever imagine that one day you will be a part of a mythological show? Frankly speaking, I never thought about it. It is a different genre altogether. But Mahadev is very different in terms of its treatment and presentation. Viewers love it. The show depicts Lord Shiva’s life in a very beautiful and simple manner. I consider myself lucky to be a part of it. Don't you feel scared of getting typecast? I think it depends on the actor. If an actor his good enough then he or she will never get typecast. You can take Gurmeet Choudhary’s example. He started off his career playing Ram and now he is portraying all sorts of characters. (Two years later you will give my example to somebody else, smiles). I am very happy with the decision and I think that my hard work has really paid off. The response has been wonderful and shows like this are not made every day. What is the response of your family? Oh… they are extremely happy. I think iss Shivratri par woh meri he pooja karne waale hain…(laughs). You won’t believe it but my journey so far has been very filmy. My family was totally against my decision of becoming an actor. So one day I just went up to them and placed two envelopes in front of them. One envelope had my resignation letter and the other had my tickets to Mumbai. So after much persuasion they finally agreed to me being an actor. Tell us something about the character Shiva you are playing. Did you do any research to portray it? As I told you, I knew a lot about Lord Shiva’s life since childhood. Furthermore, I started meditating to get the feel of the character. It gives me inner strength. The problem is when you are portraying such a strong character the expectation level is always very high. So I do take extra care as Lord Shiva has innumerable devotees and I should look convincing in my mannerisms. And somewhere down the line, there is a bit of moral responsibility as well. Fair enough. Now tell us something about your co-actors? I must admit that I have been very fortunate to be working with such a great team and such talented actors in Mahadev. I remember Surendra Pal –who plays Prajapati Daksh in the show – visiting me on the sets to greet me personally. He was shooting on another set but he came just to tell me that he liked my performance and he wanted to meet me. It was a sweet gesture and I was really touched. Apart from him, Mouni Roy, my co star, is also a fantastic person. She is very talented and co-operative. While we were rehearsing for the dance sequences she went out of her way and helped me to learn the moves. You must be keeping really busy. How do you get time to keep yourself fit and maintain such a good physique? I have to give the credit to my mobile phone as it wakes me up at 5 in the morning. I work out regularly for about one and a half hour as I need to look fit as Lord Shiva. It is my responsibility to look good and I will try to live up to it. Tell us something about your personal life? Have you found your real life Sati? (Laughs)… no not yet. I am an actor who totally devotes himself to work. I am like Shiva and I am living a bairagi jeevan. So I am still waiting for my dream girl joh mujhe iss bairagi jeevan se nikale…(laughs) Finally, any message for your fans? You have always loved and appreciated the efforts put in by the team of Mahadev and please continue to do so. Keep loving us and watching the show.