EXCLUSIVE | Rakesh Bedi on Ranveer Singh's 'Dhurandhar': ‘I play a real character; a Pakistani politician, but I don’t know the story of Major Mohit Sharma’

In an EXCLUSIVE interview with Firstpost’s Lachmi Deb Roy, Rakesh Bedi talks on Ranveer Singh starrer Dhurandhar, 8- hour shift and why it isn’t possible in the creative field and that he doesn’t know the story of Major Mohit Sharma.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

How did you come on board for _Dhurandhar_ and what can we expect from your role?

I played a small role in Uri: The Surgical Strike where I was a Pakistani but he’s a mole in their system. He gave all the information to India. We finished the scene in two hours. We started shooting the scene at 2:30 PM and wrapped up by 4:30. Aditya Dhar (director) then said ‘Rakesh sir, I’ll pay you back for this.’ This is a very common sentence in our line of job that we are going to work again in a director’s film. But he called me up last year somewhere in February I remember and told me there was a fantastic part for me in his new film. Be ready for it and keep the dates for me. When I read the part, I felt it was so good.

What were the reasons that you liked about your character in Dhurandhar that made you agree to be a part of it?

Firstly, he’s a real character and my look is also very real. He’s a Pakistani politician. And there are some politicians in every regime and every country who know how to stay in power. We also have a lot of politicians like that in our country, but I don’t want to take names. He heads an area and his political power comes from that. There are crimes and murders over there. He pulls all such strings. There is a lot of violence in my role.

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When I read the script, I found it very intense. So, I told Aditya ‘If you are taking me, let me sprinkle some humour here and there to make it little more interesting.’ Because the character is quite menacing. Initially, Aditya was very reluctant. But then we became a team and made it very interesting. I just hope what I am saying is also translated on the screen.

Is it true that the central character has a lot of similarities with Major Mohit Sharma? Even your character is based on a real-life politician. 

My character is a replica. Even if you make a love story of a spy, there could be similarities. If a girl elopes from her house, is caught by the police and killed, and she becomes a victim of what we call Love Jihad, this is something we read so much in the newspapers. It’s a spy film so there can be many parallels. Even I don’t know the inside story. I don’t know the story of Major Mohit Sharma. We all seek inspiration from somewhere. But I am quite sure of one thing that everything is inspired in some form or the other.

Do you feel Dhurandhar is going to be unique in today’s landscape?

This film is going to raise the bar in a lot of ways- in terms of costumes, or the DoPs (Director of photography), cinematography, performances, and especially action. We have not seen such kind of action in a long time. It’s international level. It will not only raise the bar but break it. This is the feeling that I am getting.

Even Sholay raised the bar at many levels, broke so many records. Many movies were made on similar grounds like The Five Men Army, Seven Samurai, but the making of Sholay is different. There have been so many spy movies but what you bring to the table is what matters. You are making new standards.

How have you kept yourself relevant for so many years being a veteran actor?

To play the game you have to be in the game. And you have to be very focused in your career. I don’t run after work or meet anyone. 99 percent of the work that comes my way, it comes on its own. I’ve been working for the past 50 years. I always feel a director thought something that I could do and that’s why he approached me for that part. That’s the reason why your director chooses good actors because they will be able to bring something to the table.

What is your message to the new generation of actors?

I take a lot of acting classes across the country. I travel a lot and meet new actors. A lot of actors come to meet me at home for some tips. The art of acting ends after a point and the craft begins. There’s a difference between the two.

Don’t run after stardom because it’s a by-product of your work. There’s nothing like overnight stardom. Look at people like Amjad Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui or Pankaj Tripathi. Overnight star wo banta hai jiska baap bahut bada producer ho ya director ho ya actor ho. Not others. You have to keep working and do good work. I just did one scene in URI, but it was an important role. Give importance to whatever role that comes your way and don’t look at how much screen time you got.

What’s your take on the 8-hour work shift — a discussion that has been happening for quite some time?

It’s not possible in creative fields. If you have to set up a shot, erect a set, it will take at least 6 to7 hours. But you should be compensated if you are working extra. I will stick to that. But it seldom happens in the creative field.

In television, we are meeting deadlines all the time. We don’t plan in advance. We have seen actors fainting on the sets and people don’t know what to do. And the payments come after three months. We have not picked up the good stuff from the West. It’s time we do it.

WATCH the trailer of Ranveer Singh starrer ‘Dhurandhar’ here: