Pratik Gandhi is gearing up for Tigmanshu Dhulia's upcoming web show, The Great Indian Murder. Casteism is one of the main themes of the show, and in an interview with Hindustan Times, Pratik said that the issue of casteism is deep-rooted in the country. He shared some experiences, too, when it had affected his work.
Pratik told the publication, "The caste system is very deep-rooted in our society. After a point, it is difficult to realise how wrong it is. Everything involves caste - our regular conversations, the way work has been distributed, the way our surnames our given etc".
Pratik narrated an incident from his own life.
"I worked for a company that set up power plants across India. We had to acquire land for that, and the landowners would seek jobs in our company in return along with the price of the land. You do not get educated people as landowners all the time. You have to then offer them jobs of a helper or like that. However, if the landowner hailed from a higher caste, the person would refuse to take up such jobs. Things don't work that way in the corporate world, but for them their lives depended on it".Pratik Gandhi, Actor
Pratik told Hindustan Times that he couldn't believe the first time he heard it, but then he thought as to how the situation can be changed. "It's not that I am talking about ages back. It's just around five years back. I've encountered such people across the country. The intensity might be different, but the issue is the same".
The actor added, "Casteism is one of the biggest demons we are fighting with. Many systems are designed in a way that it is difficult to get rid of the caste system. The issue is very-well depicted in The Great Indian Murder. Tigmanshu Dhulia understands these things very well".
(With inputs from Hindustan Times)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)