Exclusive - Rang Maza Vegla's Aashutosh Gokhale: I have realized the meaning of family bonding during this lockdown phase

Popular Marathi actor Aashutosh Gokhale, who hogged the limelight with Tula Pahate Re along with Subodh Bhave and Gayatri Datar, is currently playing the lead Karthik in the successful daily soap Rang Maza Vegla. In an exclusive chat with ETimes TV, the actor spoke about how hard was lockdown to deal with, the importance of maintaining mental health during the quarantine period and the positive changes in his life. -Interview by Vaishnavi Gavankar

This lockdown phase was initially very difficult for me. Actually, we don’t have a habit of staying at home this much. I personally don’t have one. Even after finishing my work, I used to kill time with friends. In the beginning, I found it a little hard and as days passed, I realised that I have missed so much. (PC -Instagram)

I seriously don’t know when my family and I had meals together. During this quarantine phase, I learnt what family bonding is. I also realized how we usually talk to our mother and house help, we don’t value them. But now, I realize how our mothers handle everything single-handed. Now the work is divided. It’s a big realization. (PC-Instagram)

Talking about spending a lot of time with his nephew, Aashutosh said, "I never get angry at anyone. I am a good guy (laughs). But I tend to get bored easily. I would get irritated if there was only me, mom and dad. Now my two month-old nephew is there. My sister and her husband are there. This is the reason I think I’m a lot calmer now. My nephew is our apple’s eye.” (PC -Instagram)

Took lockdown positively

I in fact forgot the importance of having some me-time. I have never ever thought of myself while working. Now, during the lockdown, I have realized that there is so much to do. We were just running after something and now I stopped and realized how productively I can invest my time. Everyone has got time to be thankful. You have 24 hours every day. You are not answerable to anyone but yourselves. Mental health is really important. I think some people are taking it negatively. I am taking the lockdown quite positively. I used to be a workaholic before but now I feel like I am finally at peace. (PC - Instagram)

Earlier, as soon as I returned from shooting, I used to take my phone, surf social media and mom used to shout at me complaining that I spent the entire day outside and rest of the time, I am on my phone. I used to console her saying I was working the whole day and now I am using my phone. I used to meet my friends, too. I think priorities have changed now. " (PC -Instagram)

Television crew has no work today due to Covid-19, He said, "We should look at lockdown positively, of course, it has many dimensions. It's not positive for our shooting crew who are dependent on daily wages because not working for a month is not easy. It's really a test for their survival now. I’m really worried for them.” (PC -Instagram)

I don’t even go outside. In the morning, the sweeper comes into our building to ensure that we are taking precautions. We do spray sanitizer on the dustbin and wash our hands. It has now become a routine to wash our hands first after touching anything. I personally like everything clean and clear. Whenever I go somewhere, I use so many tissues." (PC -Instagram) Interview by Vaishnavi Gavankar