TV show Punyashlok Ahilyabai is one of those shows which is being praised and respected by the viewers alike. The show is bringing to life the story of Queen Ahilyabai Holkar (essayed by Aetashaa Sansgiri) who reigned over the region of Malwa from 1767 to 1795. Actor Malhar Pandya has been roped in and will essay the role of Raghunath Rao Peshwa.
In an interview with Etimes, he says, “I’m happy to join the wonderful team of show Ahilyabai. I will be seen essaying one of the important characters in the show, who is Raghunath Rao Peshwa. He’s son of King Baji Rao Peshwa. It will be the first time for me that I’ll be playing a Maratha ruler. Earlier I have been part of many mythological shows but doing historical drama is all totally a fresh and new experience for me. I’m thankful to our producers Nitin Vaidya and Ninad Vaidya for giving such a pleasant opportunity and also to our director Sumit (Komkurlekar) sir who helps me performing best in each scene.”
Malhar says he enjoys dressing up for the character, “It was a long dream to sport such moustache usually Maratha rulers keep and finally it came true. I enjoy getting myself ready for the look and trust me the actor inside me feels so satisfied. I can feel some special positivity and energy inside me once I’m ready which I can’t really express in words. All thanks to my creative directors (Tushar Bhardwaj and Nidhi Chaurasia) and my costume designer (Rohini Saleskar). I just hope my fans appreciate my new role.”
Malhar was on a sabbatical from the TV industry since 2020. He was last seen as Karna in popular mythological drama RadhaKrishn. He adds, “I didn’t take a break from television intentionally. All that I got was a very good Gujarati film. So that was keeping me busy, meanwhile I did small cameos in TV shows like Maddam Sir and Pyar Ka Pehla Naam: Radha Mohan. But now when the movie shoot is over I’m back to my darling work. I always enjoy shooting for a TV show. I feel so happy to finally shoot for something worth it.”
Malhar is known for featuring in shows like ‘Nazar’, ‘Aghori’, ‘Naagin 2’ among others.