Gagan Malik , Who Plays Lord Buddha, Gets Ordained in Thailand to Study Buddhism

BANGKOK (NNT) - Gagan Malik, an Indian actor who portrayed the Lord Buddha, was ordained on Thursday, February 10th, at Bangkok’s Wat That Thong to study Buddhism.

The life of Lord Budhha’s "Sri Siddhartha Gautama," an Indian now Asian blockbuster movie depicting the life of Lord Buddha, became a massive hit all over Asia in 2013, instantly elevating the actor’s status to superstar overnight. Malik won Best Actor for the role from the World Buddhism Film Festival in 2014, organized by the United Nations. The movie also won best international movie at the International Delhi Film Festival.

The actor professed that playing the role had changed him fundamentally. He converted to Buddhism in 2014 and decided to undertake Buddhism studies and has chosen to do so at Wat That Thong. He will remain in the monkhood for 15 days. He was given the monk name of “Ahsoko” which means the one who does not grieve.

He stressed that playing the role had entirely changed his life and attitude. The satisfaction of "doing something for another person" is what has encouraged the actor to give up the glamorous lifestyle of a film star.