‘I have seen the guest list of filmi parties change every Friday’

Sachin Pilgaonkar has spent over five decades years in showbiz, having started right from the age of four as a National Awardwinning child artiste. Naturally, the actor-director is privy to a lot of changes the industry has gone through over the years. “Change is the only permanent thing in this world, and in the industry, it has been for the better and worse; it can’t be one way. You are on a highway driving, is only your side of the road busy and not the other? It has to be both ways,” Pilgaonkar quips.

What does he make of the nepotism and outsider-insider debate? He says all this would be discussed before too, just not in the same terms. “We all had to go through this, including me, who is not a star’s son. That does not mean I lost confidence in what I am. I started off as a child actor, then became director and writer, too... I’m here to learn. The only difference is earlier I’d learn from my seniors; now I’m learning from my juniors,” he shares.

What hasn’t changed, however, is the fast pace of the industry, and how fates change every Friday. Pilgaonkar, who has been a part of both Hindi and Marathi cinema, says he has seen it all happen.

“I am a very observant guy. Every Friday, the guests at film industry’s parties would change. I’ve seen that with my own eyes. It’s not hidden from anybody in the industry. Everyone has a good and bad day, one has to be prepared for that... When we look at the world and see what is going on, it’s nobody’s fault... Even now (amid the pandemic) people who are dying, it’s not their fault. These things happen. We are human beings; we have to face it. Compared to all that, our industry’s so called calamities, mishap, flops, failures are too small,” says the 63-year-old.

I’m here to learn. Earlier, I would learn from my seniors; now I’m learning from my juniors. SACHIN PILGAONKAR ACTOR-DIRECTOR

PHOTO: SHANKAR NARAYAN/HT