Mi Punha Yein is completely fictional and has no relation to what's happening in Maharashtra: Sayaji Shinde

Sayaji Shinde, who has played a politician in many films and series, once again plays a cunning leader in Planet Marathi OTT's show Mi Punha Yein. 

The political comedy, which has a strong star cast comprising Sayaji Shinde, Upendra Limaye, Siddharth Jadhav, Ruchita Jadhav and Bharat Ganeshpure, had its premiere on the platform on 29 July.

"I play the politician Vasantrao Murkute who is ready to do anything and betray anyone to get back in power," Shinde told Cinestaan.com. "Basically somewhat similar to what you are seeing on news channels and reading in newspapers nowadays. Obviously, it's a completely fictional story and character and not based on any real personality but we are living in a time where reality is stranger than fiction (laughs)".

The series marks the directorial debut of writer and director Arvind Jagtap and Shinde is a fan of his writing. "Arvind has quite intelligently infused humour into this serious subject. Half the battle was won at the writing stage itself when Arvind wrote such quirky characters. I'm sure the audience will immediately get hooked to these characters and this series," he said.

The series was shot last year. "Honestly, what's happening in Maharashtra now and what is shown in our series is just sheer coincidence. We were not thinking about this when we were shooting for the series. But at the same time, we all know by now that politicians will go to any extent to come to power. So even though we never thought that Maharashtra's politics would take such a sharp turn, nothing is out of the realm of possibility in Indian politics nowadays."

Shinde has enjoyed bringing Vasantrao Murkute to life. "I have played corrupt politicians before so it's not completely new territory for me but I must admire our writer and director Arvind because he has managed to bring a uniqueness to this character that you have not seen in any of my previous roles."

The senior artiste has completed 30 years in the film industry and he is content with how his career has evolved over the decades. "Honestly, I'm glad about how my career has turned out. In fact, sometimes I think I got more success and popularity than I had ever hoped or imagined. At this stage of my life, I'm simply looking for unique projects that will also challenge the actor within me," he said.