Deven Bhojani takes inspiration from his Maharashtrian neighbours to essay Anna on Sony SAB’s Bhakharwadi

It is not easy to portray a character different from your real life. Such was a challenge for Deven Bhojani portraying Anna, a Maharashtrian Brahmin from Pune, in Sony SAB’s latest show ‘Bhakharwadi’. The character, being an idealistic and principled man, required for him to not only act like a disciplinarian but also have a strong command over his Marathi diction. Being a renowned actor and director, Deven decided to master the art of speaking in Marathi, as per the demand of the role. He researched on the origins of certain words to get the pronunciation right, keenly listened to the speeches by some renowned Maharashtrian politicians and paid great emphasis on their mannerisms. Sharing about his preparations for the role, Deven Bhojani said, “I noticed Maharashtrians when they spoke Hindi, to bring that natural essence in my character as well. Along with this, I took great inspiration from one of my neighbours we had long time ago, when I was a kid. He was an old Marathi man, with strong principles and much like the character I am portraying. I recalled all his mannerisms and incorporated them into my acting to do justice to the character of Anna.” It is great to see Deven translate this on screen as it truly depicts his hard work. ‘Bhakharwadi’ is a story about ideological differences between two families, who compete each other in Bhakharwadi business.