Shivaji Satam: CID is one of the best things to have happened to me

CID is one of the longest running shows in the history of Indian television. And an inseparable part of this series is ACP Pradyuman which is played by renowned TV and film actor, Shivaji Satam, for the last 15 years. “CID is one of the best things to have happened to me,” he says. And the entire team of this crime based series is like family to him. “There are no ego hassles or quarrels amongst us, and Daya (Dayanand Shetty) and Abhijeet (Aditya Shrivastava) are like younger brothers to me,” adds Shivaji. Looking back in time, there a few interesting things, Shivaji shares with Tellychakkar.com. He tells us that when CID started, everyone associated with the show, expected it to run for three years, which is the ideal life span for any show, but the series went on to surpass all expectations. “Every three years, my director B P Singh and I, used to think that now our show will wrap up, however now after so many years, we do not give it a thought,” smiles the veteran actor. Having been associated with CID for so long, Shivaji has many fond memories. But on insistence, he cuts down to two episodes that are etched in his heart: “In one of the episodes, my character had to kill his onscreen son and that was one of the best episodes I shot. And apart from that, there was an episode where we shot continuously for 111 minutes, without a cut.” This specific episode, was titled ‘Inheritance’, and made the CID team proud as it holds the Guinness World Record for shooting an entire episode in one single shot. “Prior to the shoot, we rehearsed for five consecutive days and luckily we got it right in the first shot, itself. It was once in a lifetime opportunity and an adrenaline rush for each and every one of us,” gushes Shivaji. Shivaji, who has been involved with Marathi theatre for many years now, thinks his association with theatre has helped him play ACP Pradyuman: “It helps me get back to the real Shivaji, after shooting for CID.” All thanks to this suspense thriller, he also got the golden opportunity to meet the nightingale of India, Lata Mangeshkar. “It was an amazing experience for me. Lata Didi is so grounded and doesn’t have any airs about being the star that she is. It was overwhelming to know that the legendary singer is a die hard fan of CID,” beams Shivaji. To sum it up all, the award winning actor is very thankful to God, for everything that he has got in life. “I have seen so many things in one life, all thanks to CID. I got a chance to meet the legendary Lata Mangeshkar, have my name in the Guinness Book of World Records, and to top it all, have a very good team to work with. I am extremely grateful to God.” Having said that, he also mentions that there is something he is eagerly waiting for. “I want CID (the movie) to start as soon as possible. Though we wanted to start the schedule last year itself; but the story wasn’t ready. The problem is that a TV program’s script and a film script are two different things,” reveals Shivaji. And he is hoping that it starts this year. We at Tellychakkar.com are keeping our fingers crossed.