EXCLUSIVE: Sahil Khan on being the ONLY actor to have played Raj Kapoor in a film, “Playing him was a great honour”; the movie also starred Vidya Balan in the role of a real yesteryear actress
Raj Kapoor was not just an iconic artist. He was one of those rare individuals who became the face of the industry he represented and continues to do so. With a career that spanned over five decades in which he donned the hat of not only a leading actor but also an active director and producer, he left behind a legacy that keeps movie lovers proud. Today, happens to be his 101st birth anniversary.
There have been talks about a possibility of Raj Kapoor’s biopic over the years. In fact, once his grandson and superstar Ranbir Kapoor himself expressed his wish of playing his grandfather in his biopic. But nothing concrete has happened on that front.
We don’t know whether Ranbir or any other actor will eventually portray the late legend in his biopic. But we do know that even if anyone does, he won’t be the first actor to play Raj Kapoor on screen. Yes, you heard it right. The late showman’s character has already been played in the Marathi movie (with a good amount of Hindi) titled Ekk Albela. Released in 2016, the movie was a biopic on Bhagwan Dada, another legend of Indian cinema. Directed by Shekhar Sartandel, it starred Mangesh Joshi in the titular role while the character of Raj Kapoor was played by Sahil Khan. Interestingly, the role of Geeta Bali was enacted by Vidya Balan.
Bollywood Hungama exclusive spoke with director Sartandel and actor Khan on the bit about Raj Kapoor being portrayed on screen in their film Ekk Albela.
Not surprisingly, Sartandel said that to find an actor to play a legend like Raj Kapoor was a challenge. “It shouldn’t happen that people say, ‘He is not looking like Raj Kapoor’. It took some time. I was looking at the photographs provided by model co-ordinators. Some people did somewhat resemble Raj Kapoor. I had to match his looks from his earlier films like Bawre Nain, which came in 1950. People mostly remember Raj Kapoor ji of later years. But in the 1950s, he had a chiselled face,” he said.
Sartandel decided to cast models who are looking for a break in movies. Explaining the reason, he said, “If there was already an established actor in the industry who looks like Raj Kapoor, he wouldn’t have been available. He would have already been cast. Woh khaali toh nahin baitha hoga. So, there were more chances of finding such an actor among models.”
During this time, an assistant of his based in Nashik had spread the word that they are looking for an actor resembling Raj Kapoor. That’s how he came across Sahil Khan’s picture. “I instantly realized (that he resembles Raj Kapoor) because of his chiselled face and the styling of his eyes. Because of this, the makeup man wasn’t required to rely on prosthetics. Vidyadhar Bhatte, the personal make-up man for Vidya Balan, was also doing the make up for this film. He saw the picture and he also said that we won’t need to do much with him. He (Sahil) was instantly passed.”
Sahil said he feels very happy whenever he gets appreciated for playing the character of Raj Kapoor. Recalling that period, he said he was a new kid on the block who was trained at Anupam Kher’s Actor Prepares. He got to know about the audition for Ekk Albela from his friend Pritesh Mahale.
Sahil went for the audition and was taken aback to know that he has to audition for the role of Raj Kapoor! “I was shocked thinking how I would do it. The producers and Shekhar sir gave me one page and asked me to perform it in 10-15 minutes. I asked how can I perform Raj Kapoor sir in such less time? In those days, there was Google and YouTube but no ChatGPT and new-age tools. So, how do I research? I thought I need to watch his movies, read his articles. Meri hawa tight ho gayi! We were watching each other’s faces. I said this is an in-depth character and I really need to study him. They understood that. They said that they took around 7-8 people’s audition for Raj Kapoor sahab but my look is going well with him.”
Sahil could find only a couple of movies of Raj Kapoor online. He collected Bunny Reuben’s book on Raj Kapoor. He was getting DVDs and VCDs but he didn’t have a player in Mumbai to play those movies. Hence, he could see only Aawara and Shree 420 online. “As it was also Vidya Balan’s first Marathi movie, I knew it will be well-publicized,” said Sahi.
But Sartandel advised him not to watch too many films of Raj Kapoor, else any actor can come under too much pressure, including established actors. He recalled that as soon as Sahil wore that suit, he realized that he is looking similar to Raj Kapoor. This was enough for the first shot to be okayed soon. “It was done in just about two takes. There was no trouble for me. People were happy with him on the sets too,” said the filmmaker.
Sharing his experience of giving the first shot as Raj Kapoor, Sahil said, “I was well prepared by the time the shoot day arrived. I spoke a lot with Shekhar sir. I gave whatever the best I could that time. I rehearsed with Mangesh sir. Then in about 1-2 takes it was done. Playing him was a great honour for me. As Shah Rukh Khan keeps saying that he is the last of the stars. Raj Kapoor was the first star.”
It was also challenging for Sartandel to decide the interactions between Raj Kapoor and Bhagwan Dada in order to show mutual respect between both. “In one scene, Raj sahab advises Bhagwan dada to start doing social films,” he said. “I found the angle of his respect for Bhagwan Dada in that one scene.”
There was another scene between Raj Kapoor and Bhagwan Dada, which couldn’t make it to the film. Sartandel recalled that scene, “The editing of Raj Kapoor’s film and Bhagwan Dada’s film used to happen in adjacent studios. Raj sahab used to watch the editing of Bhagwan Dada’s film. Bhagwan Dada didn’t used to be present all the time. His editor was senior and Raj sahab was very young. He told someone, ‘Prithviraj Kapoor’s son is repeatedly standing here and watching all our footage. Tell him to not come here’. But Bhagwan Dada once said, ‘No. Raj is young but he is also a filmmaker. I know he won’t lift any of our scenes, so let him come.’ This is how they interacted off the screen. Even today, Jagruti Studio (founded by Bhagwan Dada) is at the same place.”
Sartandel got the first reaction for the casting of Raj Kapoor after the trial show itself. He recalled, “Nikhil Sane (the then Business Head for Marathi film division at Zee Studios) took me aside and asked in Marathi, ‘Tell me, how did you get an actor for Raj Kapoor sahab? (laughs)’ I think this is about luck. You need to show some patience. It was my luck that Sahil’s photo came in front of me. So, I was luckier than the actor. If the casting wouldn’t have been proper, people would have blamed me.”
The post EXCLUSIVE: Sahil Khan on being the ONLY actor to have played Raj Kapoor in a film, “Playing him was a great honour”; the movie also starred Vidya Balan in the role of a real yesteryear actress appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.
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