Jitin Gulati’s Exclusive Interview: The actor speaks on working with Akshaye Khanna in Mahakali, ‘I saw the same focus, same gravity in his performance’.
Published: September 24, 2026, 3:31 PM IST
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Jitin Gulati on Akshay Khanna’s work in Mahakali (PC- Twitter)
Actor Jitin Gulati is set to be seen in the upcoming mythology film Mahakali, which also stars Akshaye KhannaIn an exclusive interview with India.com, Jitin opened up about working with the veteran actor and revealed how Khanna approached the larger-than-life world of mythologyFor Jitin, Mahakali was a new experience as he had not previously worked in a mythology filmHe said he was particularly curious to see how Akshaye Khanna would approach a role that required a different scale and performance style“In the commercials, the performances that he has given, I was very curious to know how he would handle something larger than life, like a role like this,” Jitin told India.com.
However, watching Khanna perform on the sets gave him his answerJitin said the actor brought the same intensity and focus that he has displayed throughout his career“But I saw the same focus, same gravity and same intensity in his performance as well, and it was very interesting for me,” he said.
What Akshaye Khanna told Jitin about Mahakali
Akshaye Khanna is known for keeping a relatively low profile and rarely speaks publicly about his projectsJitin revealed that the two did have conversations while working together, including about how Khanna came on board the mythology film“When we were working, I mean, we did chat about this filmI remember I asked him, you know, this is the first film in his languageAnd he told me when Mahakali calls, you have to do it,” Jitin recalled.
According to the actor, Khanna was deeply invested in the project“He was very excited, I mean, really, really passionate about this projectI know that,” Jitin said.
Jitin Gulati on preparing for the mythology film
Jitin also revealed that he and Khanna had conversations about their respective characters and the visual aspects of the filmSince both actors were portraying characters from a different era, their preparation involved detailed discussions around their appearance.
We asked if sharing the screen with Akshaye Khanna and working within the larger-than-life Mahakali world brought additional pressure, Jitin said pressure is part of every film“Wo toh pressure har film hota haiWe want to do our best and we want to prepareBecause you are coming on screen and you are given the responsibility of putting up that character,” he said.
For Jitin, Mahakali appears to have been an experience of stepping into an unfamiliar genre while working alongside an actor he has long admired.
