An actor has no religion, acting is our only dharam: Gurmeet
Actor Gurmeet Choudhary shot to fame when he portrayed Lord Rama in the TV show, Ramayana, and was happy that he managed to connect with a wider audience. However, amid all this, one comment surprised him the most. “I was told that the audience wouldn’t be able to accept you as a Muslim character,” he says.
However, the 33-year-old, who strongly believes that work is worship, clarifies, “An actor has no religion. Acting is our only dharam. Just because I’ve played a Hindu God, it wouldn’t stop me from playing a Muslim or a Christian character. As actors, we can’t work as per our religion.”
The actor then recounts an incident that his father told him. “When my father was enrolled in the army, in one of training drills, his hands and feet were tied, and he was pushed deep inside the water till the time he could hold his breath. Whenever my father would come up, they’d ask him his name and religion and he’d answer and was again pushed deep inside the water. This happened again and again, till he finally asked, ‘Maine kiya kya hai?’ and they said fauj ka koi dharam nahi hota. Similarly, ek actor ka koi religion nahi hota and uska ek he dharam hai — acting,” shares the actor.
After Ramayana, Choudhary took a break for about a year before he signed up for TV shows Geet – Hui Sabse Parayi and Punar Vivah.
The actor reveals that during that time, some people even suggested he join politics. “There were people who told me that my career had come to an end after playing Lord Rama, and nobody will accept me in any other role. So, I should join politics. I’d be the youngest politician and since I have a lot of fan following, I’d be able to influence people to do good,” he quips.
But, the Paltan (2018) actor didn’t change his mind and managed to break all the stereotypes. “I was clear that I wasn’t going to quit acting to join politics or any other profession. I held my ground, and now when I look back, I feel happy I made that decision. Having spent five years in Bollywood, I aspire to make it big here,” he ends.