How did Mohit Raina succeed in breaking the image of ‘Mahadev’? Said- I am lucky, today’s generation knows everything

You have played mostly powerful, larger than life roles on screen. So, what was the reason behind saying yes to a simple love story like ‘Ishq-e-Nadaan’?
You are absolutely right, I have played very few such characters. Actually, sometimes such scripts come along, which are very simple, but there are some different things in them. Like, we go to eat in big restaurants, eat expensive dishes, but sometimes it is a different pleasure to eat shells by the sea. It was one such thing. An extraordinary story of six very ordinary people living in a city like Mumbai. This attracted me a lot. Like, my character who is a middle class man with no personal life, wife has passed away. He lives alone in a city like Mumbai with his six year old daughter. Then when he meets a completely different person from himself, his life changes completely. If I had to do this character 15 years ago, it would have probably been easier for me, because I am from a small town, but now I am living in Mumbai all these years, so finding the simplicity of that character was challenging for me. So I thought it was important to be a part of this story.

What does love mean to you and what is the most important thing to keep a loving relationship strong?
I believe that if there is love then it does not need to be spoken. The word ‘I love you’, I am not able to say much, because I personally believe that if there is love, then it should be visible in your actions. You shouldn’t need to say this. Second, love is like a plant for me, which you have to wake up every morning to water and feed. You have to feed it everyday. For me, love is to understand that person everyday, not just on Sunday, because it’s a holiday and I’m working from Monday to Saturday, so I won’t do these things. To be honest, in today’s time love comes with a lot of responsibility, because everyone is so busy, everyone is running. So, these are the two things which are of great importance to me.

Lately you have experienced a new kind of love as a father. What changes are you feeling after becoming a father?

Mohit Raina with his daughter

There is a lot of change. I had even told my wife that if we bring the Google Map chip and keep it from now on, we will know later where our daughter is going (laughs). After becoming a parent, you feel very responsible. Until a few months ago, the last thing I used to do at night was set my alarm for the next day, but now when I walk into my daughter’s room and see her sleeping, life has changed completely. My daughter will be four months old and I am very happy that I decided to take a break and spend this time with her. Initially I thought it would be foolish Mohit that you would take three-four months off and spend time with your child. Initially, I was unsure whether I was doing the right thing or not, but I am so happy that I took this decision and am spending time with her that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Arun Govil who played the role of Ram before you, Nitish Bhardwaj who played Krishna could never get out of that character. You also settled in every house as Mahadev, but you managed to break that image. How did you do it?

Mohit Raina with his daughter

Firstly, I consider myself lucky that the filmmakers saw the potential in me that this person is not limited to just this character, he can do many more. Secondly, times are very different now. I still remember that when the Mahabharata was telecast, in Kashmir in those days the lights used to go off in the morning in our society. Then my grandfather used to have a battery, so the whole society used to come to see the Mahabharata at our place. At that time he seemed like God to us because we had not seen him anywhere else. Nothing else was thought of that person. While today’s generation knows everything, they can google everything, so they are smart enough to differentiate between a character and a human being. These two-three things proved effective for me.