‘Shri Krishna Janam’
Mandakini Athavale ( Mai)
I did roles in Dadasaheb’ s two films, Krishna Janma and Kaliamardan. In Kaliamardan, he gave me the central role of Krishna. I was only six or seven years old, yet Dadasaheb said that only my maternal uncle should do my makeup, no one else. He did not like it if I mixed too much with the boys. He lovingly called me Sonu.
Dadasaheb got a short film made showing him, mother and us ( children) sauntering in a park. Before actually acting in films, he taught me how to show emotions like anger, love, joy, fear etc. and made me act accordingly. He would do it himself for me to see. At the time of actual shooting, he would do the acting and I would imitate him. When he said, ‘Go on,’ the camera would start and I would act out the scene. When he said ‘Stop’, the camera and my acting would stop. However I was not allowed to enter the studio at other times. After I got married at the age of fourteen, my association with the studio became less and less, even though I lived in Nashik!
