Swwapnil Joshi: An experience of a lifetime, playing Krishna on screen

After playing the titular role in the show Shri Krishna as a teenager, actor Swwapnil Joshi feels the role helped build a deep emotional bond with the deity.

“I always believe that as an actor when you do certain characters, they take away a part of your soul but when you play such divine roles, they actually add to your existence. Today, I am a better human who can have his lows but still knows how to stay strong and unbroken.

“On the festival of Krishna Janmashtami, I feel overwhelmed and delighted to see how people still see me as a medium between them and the divine incarnation,” said Joshi.

Recalling days when the show went on air, “It was a different scene altogether. There was a huge crowd outside my house as well as on the sets where people used to come just to catch a glimpse of me or take blessings. It was then that Ramanand (Sagar) ji said to me it’s not you that they are coming to, it’s the divine character that you are essaying is pulling them towards you…Remember you are just a medium. And that’s the reason that success never went to my head though I was merely 15 then.”

Joshi sums up his journey as a fulfilling one that he began as a nine-year-old. “I think be it the role of Kush in Uttar Ramayan or Shri Krishna that went on to become a cult, both came finding me. So, in a way, they chose me and I am really proud of the fact that a kid who had no idea about life was moulded in these great characters,” says the Amanat and Dil Vil Pyar Vyar actor.

Joshi is glad as the shoots of all his stalled films and shows have resumed. “Covid times were a learning period for all of us. And we should be happy to have survived one of the toughest phases in history. Along with two of my Marathi films, a web series too is all set to release in the coming months. Also, I am more than eager to recreate another cult character in coming times,” says Joshi, who is also known for the blockbuster Dunyadari and the web series Samantar.