Govind Namdev says he was beaten by a sadhu for drinking water from a lake. Here's why

Govind Namdev has played numerous memorable characters in his 32-year-old film career. From playing the Thakur in Bandit Queen, Veeran in Sarfarosh to Siddheshwar Maharaj in OMG, the actor says he was always able to connect them with a real person in order to portray them convincingly on screen. "I have picked them from the society. I picked qualities from such people and incorporated them in my characters. I practised the nuances and that's why they look so real and have an impact on the audience," he says. (Also Read | Govind Namdev, Prabhudheva were not on same page during Wanted shoot)

When Govind was beaten up by a sadhu

Sharing a story from his childhood which gave him his character in OMG - Oh My God, he revealed, "The character I have played in OMG - I had seen such a person when I was 10-11 years old. We were a group of friends and would visit the banks of a river in Sagar (a town in Madhya Pradesh) on Sundays. I studied till class 7 in Sagar. We used to spend our Sunday plucking guavas, groundnuts and grams and would enjoy it on the banks of the river. We would burn some grass and roast grams and groundnuts and enjoy ourselves during the picnic. There was a water body and we would sit on its stairs to drink water or just play among ourselves. One day, a sadhu scolded us, saying, "I use this water to bathe my shivling. How dare you make this water dirty?" He asked us never to do that again. We would sneak in there on a few more Sundays and would enjoy ourselves in the water. One day, when I was drinking water from there, a hand held my neck and pulled me back. Aur uske baad jo sutaai ki unhone meri (he beat me up with a stick). His eyes were red and he was burning with rage. I remembered that rage and when I got the character, I immediately connected it with that baba."

Govind's Thakur in Bandit Queen was based on this person

The actor went on to name several other characters which he had picked from those he had met at some point of time in his life. "I took my character in Bandit Queen from my father. He was a renowned pahalwan and would walk from our house to our tailoring shop with a wet towel on his head to save himself from the heat. When I showed this to Shekhar Kapur, he was amazed. He loved it and said there is no need to even put on the moustache and just asked me to wear goggles. My character in Prem Granth was inspired by a person I know. I connected my Tantrik character to my character in OMG," he said.

Govind's upcoming films

Recently seen in Aazam and Chidiyakhana, Govind Namdev has a long list of upcoming films this year. He will be seen in a silent film, Gandhi Talks, with Vijay Sethupathi, Aditi Rao Hydari, Rohini Hattangadi. "It's a commercial film and refers to how money is what makes things happen. It will be released in theatres," he says. He also has Wo Ladki Hai Kahaan in which he plays a masala king.

Talking about one more upcoming film and a web show, he says, "I also have a very different film, Khoobsurat Padosan. Late Bappi Lahiri had planned it and after his death, his daughter and son-in-law have produced it. It stars Rituparna Sen, who plays my wife in the film, and Zakir Husain. I am also eagerly waiting for two web series, one of which is named Chhota Yadav and also stars Saurabh Shukla. I play a powerful character from Bihar who is very fond of wearing stylish dresses each day."