The world knows him as the agitated father of five daughters in the serial Hum Paanch. For the Marathi audience, Ashok Saraf is not just an actor, but also a figure that they relate Marathi cinema to. Having been in the Marathi film industry and grown with it, veteran actor Ashok Saraf's place in the history of Marathi cinema is irreplaceable; so much so that Marathi cinema is synonymous with Ashok Saraf for many. But the true identity of the legendary actor and the real human being that lies beneath the surface extends much beyond the on screen characters that he has been portraying.

In the city for the premiere of his production debut Ek Daav Dhobi Pachhad, Ashok and Nivedita Saraf spoke about the film, his roles and contemporary Marathi cinema. Narrating the story of Ek Daav Dhobi Pachhad, Ashok Saraf says, "This is the story of a small town don, who ventures into seizing control of a building. The building incidentally belongs to a lady, who has been his lover in the past. The film is about the developments that follow. The film is based on an Italian opera. And more than anything else, what is clearly visible is the teamwork put in by the unit. Marathi cinema has matured over the years and we believe that this is a true representation of commercial Marathi films today," adds Nivedita Saraf.

Presented by Zee Talkies, the film on a comedy platter is also a representative of the transition of comedy in Marathi films and Ashok Saraf makes it a point to notice the change. "I believe that the definition of comedy in Marathi cinema has changed over the years. While the initial definition of comedy was limited to dialogues, comedy today is fast and situational," says the man who has undoubtedly been the true ambassador of Marathi cinema, especially comedy.

Having presented over 250 characters through countless films, television serials, theatre and so on, Saraf feels that comedy is the genre that he has chosen to belong to. "Though difficult as a technique, I find it easy to make people laugh. My idea of an emotional act is making people cry just as they are laughing, which means that I love to do comedy that has a silver lining of sorrow associated with it, and that I find interesting as well as challenging," smiles he.

Saturation point, believes Saraf, is an important aspect of every actor's life. "Stagnation is important because, it is when you think beyond the monotony of life that greater discoveries are made. Today, when I sit and look back at my characters, I feel that I could have done the same roles in a different manner. That does not mean that my acting was at fault, it just means that I have the capability to present one character in countless shades of emotions. It is this confidence that enables me to improve as an actor and eliminate my own reflection in the character that I am doing, which is very important for an artiste," says he,