Sachin Khedekar, Vandana Pathak were comfortable working in the Gujarati film Golkeri

In Viral Shah's Golkeri (2020), which is due to be released this week, actor Sachin Khedekar and actress Vandana Pathak play a couple who help their son with his relationship woes. Both the actors are Maharashtrians working in their first film in Gujarati. However, neither actor faced any problem working in a new industry.

"Even though I am a Maharashtrian, I was brought up in Ahmedabad, so my hold over the language is pretty strong," Pathak said.

"Nowadays, an actor usually knows three to four languages and is performing in various languages. Although there are a few words which are said in a typically Amdavadi way, both Malhar [Thakar] and Vandana had a field day with me when I was rehearsing my lines," Khedekar added.

Malhar Thakar plays their son Sahil in the romantic comedy, also starring Manasi Parekh Gohil. Khedekar and Pathak are working together for the first time in Golkeri.

Pathak shared, "We met for the first time, but we never had an awkward moment as we always knew of each other. We had a really good time shooting the film."

"It was fun because Vandana is from Ahmedabad and living in Mumbai, so she was back to her roots. Malhar is a true-blood Amdavadi, while Manasi has her own special persona. It’s a good ensemble to have, where four people are trying to look like a family," Khedekar said. He went on to add that he liked his role as a father as it was very well written.

"It’s a fresh take on parenting, on how do you deal with youngsters," he said.  "We usually see clichéd relationships between a father and son, one which is strained and formal. But in Golkeri, the father is very understanding of his son and his situation. He knows his predicament and understands how youngsters behave. He also wants to advise his son, and yet feels the need to hold back so that Sahil can figure a way out himself. The relationship is written very well in the movie and doesn’t look forced. It's very subtle."

"The film is relevant in today’s time," Pathak continued. “I know Viral Shah, who has directed Golkeri and co-written it with Amatya Goradia. When they called me for a narration, I was bowled over by the concept and how well it had been written," she said. 

"I wanted to do something in Gujarati films, but nothing had struck a chord with me. But when Golkeri happened, I immediately said yes. The movie beautifully captures the essence of youth, their body language, their relationships and their world, centred around social media. All this, along with parents, who may not understand this on a primal level, but have an understanding of relationships, has been incorporated harmoniously in the film," she said.