Sharad Kelkar’s latest film Har Har Mahadev released on October 25. The film is directed by Abhijeet Shirish Deshpande and is based on Maratha Commander Baji Prabhu Deshpande. The Free Press Journal caught up with the actor for an exclusive chat. Excerpts:
Do you have a comfort zone in portraying era-driven roles?
Firstly, I have a very conventional Indian man look and it kind of works for such roles. I don’t have a very modern look, like how in older movies Dharamji had those Indian looks. Obviously, my voice works then and I believe my Hindi is good since I grew up in a Hindi speaking belt. Even my body type suits for warrior looks but it’s not easy and not my comfort zone at all.
Go on…
It takes a lot of conviction to play such roles wearing not too comfortable costumes and accessories in your hands or ears. It is in fact a very uncomfortable zone physically and mentally. As an actor, it is a task.
Being from a Maharashtrian descent, did your camaraderie with Marathi speaking actors become easier?
I am the weakest in the film in terms of language. Since I grew up in Madhya Pradesh, my command over Marathi is not as good as others. Subodh (Bhave, co-star) has a fantastic in-depth knowledge of Marathi. It was an odd zone for me but my co-stars were so sweet and supportive. There are a lot of difficult words and they used to tell me the meanings. My director had a lot of trust in me. He always told me that my eyes speak more than anything.
How tedious was your physical training for the film?
Honestly, if I would have shot the film in the weight I was in, it would have been much more easier for me but the character in the film required me to look huge. Losing weight is difficult since I am still not back to my original weight of 84 kilos. I got a lot of injuries since I got hit so many times that I had to apply ice on my face frequently. There’s a man, who I cut into two pieces in the film. He is my trainer Yogesh Dada and his height is 7.1 and he weighs 160 kilos. He is a non-actor but we wanted him so I got him on board.
Of late you are being hit only in all your films in the recent past…
Yeah, since my wife (Keerti Gaekwad Kelkar) at home never beats me so I am getting all the beatings on screen (laughs).
2022 has been an important year in your career. How difficult was it for you to do varied roles?
It was difficult for me to get into some characters and get out of them. It was mentally a very tough year for me. I am not a method actor rather I am a switch off-switch on actor. Being an actor, I have to keep shifting and reinventing myself.
