People hardly know me; I want it to remain that way: Hanuman Ansh star
India, Sept. 10 -- W
ith Hanuman Ansh emerging as one of the year's surprise box-office successes, its 31-year-old lead Shobhinaw Satyaa has found sudden fame playing spiritual guru Neem Karoli Baba. But the actor would rather remain an enigma: "People hardly know anything about me, and I want to remain like this and about my personal life details. I have a reserved nature! Now, I use Insta somewhat, but before the film's teaser release I had hardly 2-3 posts and about 200 followers (now 225K). I prefer staying away from my mobile for hours." Satyaa says he takes inspiration from late actor Amrish Puri. "I am a big fan of Amrish sir for how he kept his real life and voice hidden from public glare and kept it for the screen."
His casting in Hanuman Ansh, directed by Dr Vishal Chaturvedi, was itself unexpected: "Everyone knows that, as an assistant director, I landed in this role after the actor fell ill, but the magic started 10 years back. I was assistant director in a student film Dhai Kalo by Vivek Kelkar in FTII, Pune and the lead actor got stuck and I did the lead role. Hanumanji ne tab trailer dikhayi thi ab puri picture dikha di hai." That experience made him certain about acting, even if he had no clear path ahead. He says, "I just wanted to do something big, and now my friends say you manifested it but I did not realise it then. It has been 10 years, and I kept my promise to myself that kuch chota-mota role nahi karunga!"
Despite the film's success, Satyaa says he has not been approached for another project yet and is in no hurry. "I am not even thinking about it right now and focusing on how this film and Baba's name can reach everyone, everywhere. I will surely experiment, but apni maryada ka khayal rakhonga my whole life - any saint, culture or great Indian personalities. I can't abuse and do violence on screen, as in real life too. I don't speak such language nor do I smoke or drink; I live a satvik life. So, I will not do what I am not, as I won't be able to do justice to it!" he says. The attention, however, has brought one awkward experience: people touching his feet: "When people touch my feet, I get very embarrassed. I tell them to hug and go touch the feet of Baba's Shrimurti as I am only his daas and I have done this role on his direction."
Satyaa says his connection with Baba goes back to his school days. "I first got introduced to him in 2009 when I was in high school, when my friend Shubham Mishra showed Baba's story, and his grandfather has done seva of the Baba, so I heard many stories of him; since then I have become his follower."...
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