Exclusive - Shivaji Satam Aka ACP Pradyuman opens up about CID's legacy, near death experience while shooting and reacts to funny memes

Veteran actor Shivaji Satam, best known for his iconic role as ACP Pradyuman in CID, recently joined Times of India for an exclusive conversation. During the interview, he spoke about his journey with the cult show. He further opened about the legacy it created, the immense love it continues to receive across generations, and even revealed that the legendary Lata Mangeshkar was among its biggest admirers. Satam also addressed the viral memes inspired by CID, sharing that he always took them sportingly. For him, CID has become his identity and he has never been unhappy or dissatisfied with the show. (Photo: Instagram)

I feel truly blessed, not just me, but the entire CID team. After the long break due to COVID, this opportunity, this comeback… it’s not something everyone gets. I honestly believe it’s divine intervention. Everyone works hard, but to get this kind of return, this connection with the audience again it’s amazing. (Photo: Instagram)

We have been on air for so long, it’s become a generational thing. Four generations have grown up watching us! My own grandson proudly tells people, ‘Mere aaba ACP Pradyuman hai!’ That pride, that connection , it means everything to me. It shows how deeply people relate to our characters. And when that happens, the audience begins solving cases with us. They think along with us. (Photo: Instagram)

There have been so many times when police officers and our real-life counterparts have told us, ‘You people solve cases so quickly on screen that the public starts expecting the same from us.’ And that’s such a beautiful thing. There’s a kind of positivity and admiration people show towards our roles, even though these cases are fictional. They are not real crimes, they are stories born out of imagination, fantasy. But still, the emotional engagement is very real. (Photo: Instagram)

I honestly never realized how impactful social media had become until I saw it for myself. It shows the generation gap so clearly. My grandson teaches me all kinds of things about science, technology, and the digital world. It’s amazing. I’ve seen so many creative reels, some so funny that I’ve saved them! Especially from YouTubers like Mythpat ,he’s been a die-hard fan of mine since childhood. We recently met, and even shot together. Kids come up to me now and say, ‘We saw you in Mythpat’s video!’ It’s incredible.

Funny thing ,Mythpat always insists he wants to play a dead body in CID. That’s his dream role! Imagine a fan wanting to be a corpse just to be on our show. It’s hilarious and humbling. (Photo: Instagram)

Very honestly, my journey started with Marathi theatre. From there, I moved into Marathi films and television. That industry taught me so much the value of story, character, emotion. I’ve played so many roles of fathers, police officers but I’ve never felt typecast or offended. I’ve had the privilege of working with brilliant directors, especially my favorite, Mahesh Manjrekar. Every project has taught me something. As an actor, I’ve done countless ad films, even during the period when CID went off-air. But I’ve never run after shows. I have a simple principle: if I don’t believe in the role and I’m just doing it for money, then I’m cheating the character. Theatre teaches you integrity to honor your craft.

In CID’s peak days, we used to shoot 22–25 days a month. It was intense. I used to often wonder how I would manage. But the channel supported us, always reminding me ‘You are the face of CID.’ That helped me set my priorities and draw boundaries. I was never unhappy or dissatisfied. I had no complaints. CID is my identity, and I respected that. (Photo: Instagram)

People don’t know, but most of us don’t even know how to swim. Still, we did so many shoots in water! Daya and Abhijeet had to shoot such scenes regularly. It was a dangerous, really risky situation. But everything was choreographed so well. And we worked under such odd, unpredictable circumstances. Sometimes we finished shooting entire scenes before the crowd even realized something was happening. That feeling like mischievous kids sneaking in a prank made us so happy. We used to say, "Chupke se shooting ho gayi." (Photo: Instagram)

During a shoot, I once slipped into a deep snow pit, sinking almost up to my neck. Thankfully, Abhijeet and Daya immediately grabbed my hands and pulled me out. The entire location was covered in snow, and while I was walking toward a scooter, I suddenly fell. If they hadn’t held on to me, I could have gone down nearly 15–20 ft. To make things even scarier, a river was flowing right next to the spot where I had fallen. (Photo: Instagram)

Late Lata Mangeshkar ji and her sisters, Asha tai and Usha tai, felt like family. Lata Tai was such a big CID fan. She treated us like her own. Asha tai and Lata tai would even complain when the show went off-air. They’ve made us sing those memories I’ll treasure forever. Even stalwarts like Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, such respected names are fans of our show. Can you imagine the honor? (Photo: Instagram)

Before acting full-time, I worked in a bank. Once, while shooting and working simultaneously, I witnessed a robbery near my office in Worli. I instinctively shouted and threatened the thief and he ran away. The person who was being robbed came to me and said, 'Sir, aap hi iska case solve kijiye!’ ..That’s the level of conviction people had. There have been many such instances where people genuinely asked us to solve real crimes. That shows how deeply connected we were with viewers. (Photo: Instagram)