By From investigating crime in his real life to interrogating suspects on the sets for TV shows, there isn’t much difference in the reel and real life of Assistant Police Inspector Liladhar Patil.
A detection officer at Worli police station in Mumbai, 34-year-old Patil says policing and acting both are his passions. When he is not on duty, Patil is on sets of TV shows performing roles of a cop.
He is the first Mumbai police official to get a special permission from the state Home department to pursue his passion for acting. Within a month after getting permission, Patil got offers from both television shows and movies, and he has already featured in two TV shows, Tera Yaar Hoon Main and Crime Patrol, while another, Crime Stop, is set to release this month.
The officer who has received around 120 rewards for solving crime cases joined the Maharashtra Police force in 2012.
Before Worli, he was posted at Nagpada and Pydhonie police station. It was during his stint at Pydhonie police station in 2017 that he first started taking his passion for acting seriously after meeting two actors.
“There was some incident due to which a television actor had come to the police station. He suggested that I should pursue acting. He asked me to come to the Film City,” Patil said, adding that around the same time, he also met a Bollywood actor, who also offered to help.
On their guidance, the officer started auditioning for roles and soon got selected for three TV shows. However before taking it further with the production houses, Patil took permission from the state Home department. He told the authorities that acting was his hobby and promised that he will not let his hobby affect his work. After he told the authorities that he was not pursuing his hobby for monetary gains, the Home department granted him permission in the first week of November under the Maharashtra Nagari Seva Act, 1979.
Since then Patil has been seen playing the role of a police officer in shows like Tera Yaar Hoon Main and Crime Patrol, which got telecast on November 20 and 24, respectively.
On the difficulties he faced on sets, he said, “It was surprisingly easy. Because I am a police officer and playing a role of what I do in my real life, it is not difficult.”
The officer recalled his wife’s first reaction when she first saw him on TV. “I wanted to surprise her so I kept it a secret. On the day when the first show got telecast, I asked her to go and turn on the television. The moment she saw me on screen, she screamed in shock,” he said, grinning cheerfully.
Patil, who hails from Dongaon village in Jalgaon, said the struggle for money that he experienced growing up pushed him towards making it big in life.
“My father worked as a contract labourer in Jalgaon and he earned Rs 30 a day. After a point, he could not fund my education. So, I decided to work in a wafer company and fund my education,” he said.
In 2001, he completed his 10th board scoring 70 per cent and took admission in an Industrial Training Institute. Patil repaired electronic equipment and simultaneously completed his graduation in Arts.
“I wanted to become a teacher, but I lost out on that opportunity by three marks. So I decided to become a police officer,” he said, adding, “Jo hota hai achhe ke liye hota. If I had not become a police officer, I would not have come to Mumbai.”
Patil added that his duty as a police officer will always come first. “There have been instances when the duty timings have clashed with the shooting. During such times, I ask the production house to reschedule,” said Patil
