"ACP isn't stone-hearted" Shivaji Satam

I love cricket. I have been part of more than 50 films. And really feel honoured to be part of the most appreciated and loved crime show on air." Isn't that an easy one to guess? Kid viewers' very own 'ACP uncle of CID' aka Shivaji Satam, in a t?te-?-t?te with Misha Malhotra, shares his experiences of being part of a show that has run non stop for almost eight years. How do you feel always being known as CID's ACP? It feels wonderful to be part of the team. The feeling is just too great to be expressed in words. And the credit goes to B P Singh, who is my friend, and my contemporary. Flashback... Shivaji recollects how he landed the role… BP and I have been closely related for the past 25 years. I had just started my career then. He just came up to me and said that he was doing a show called CID. I think I was his first choice. Since I was so closely associated with him, this was the best opportunity for us to work with each other. Fast forward a bit… did you know from the very beginning your show would become a hit? To be very honest, I had this gut feeling that said CID would surely become a hit. And that this would go on for many years. I still remember once, BP called me and asked 'how long will we go?' I told him with full confidence - say, another five years. Then recently he called me and asked me, how many more years to go?. I told him - don't worry, we will continue for another three years! CID has been running for a very long time. What's your take on that? Well, it feels great. Yes, we are different and you see the results, which can be projected through the success of the show. And I give the whole credit to my team. I still remember an incident when a small boy wished me on my birthday; and I was stunned to know that he actually knew my birthday, and had sent me a handwritten card that read - 'To ACP uncle.' See this shows that how much you are being cared for. Small children call me and recognize me as ACP, who is always there to help them. What is the success behind the show? The team. I strongly believe the whole unit will suffer if any one person is taken off the sets. And the best part is that we have become more like friends now. There is so much of leg pulling, sharing of our ideas and sorrows. It feels like a family all together. Did you take any special training to play this part? I have been lucky, because the director knows what he wants his actors to do. So we don't have to do much homework and effort. He projects everything in a very simple but fantastic manner. Which were the cases that you enjoyed solving? This is a tough one. All my cases are really special to me. But to name a few, I would say there was this case where I went blind and was so helpless, but with the help of my team's support, I could crack cases. Another one was on dowry deaths. The ACP is thought to be very 'stone hearted'. I would like to say that he is just a man of principles. For him, duty comes before relationships. What is Shivaji like in his free time? I would say he is a cricketer , then there are times when he just loves to laze around, also does a bit on the home front like dusting, then by the evening he becomes a social animal who likes visiting friends, as the night approaches he loves to wind up his session reading or may be watching Marathi plays and films.