Aditya Roy Kapur's film Rashtra Kavach OM has released today. The action flick also stars Sanjana Sanghi and is helmed by Kapil Verma. The Free Press Journal caught up with the actor for an exclusive interaction. Excerpts:
Rashtra Kavach OM is an out-and-out action film. What kind of challenges did you face while working on it?
The biggest challenge was to achieve a certain physicality for the role. Producer Ahmed Khan and director Kapil Verma wanted me to do every possible stunt in the film. I had to train for around three to four months of extensive action training. I had to get my body language right and look smooth while performing action on screen. Since I wanted to do this kind of film, I signed up for it.
Your co-star Sanjana is all praise for your support throughout. Your thoughts?
I found myself a senior actor on the sets, so if you do know something that can help others, you should always do it. It was lovely working with her. She is a really driven and focused girl. She set her mind to do action, and she came on the sets prepared. Once you see the film, you won’t feel that she is doing the action for the first time.
Did you also learn how to shoot from heavy-weighted guns?
Yes, I did some gun training because there’s completely a different grammar to it, which I had to learn. In fact, one of my co-actors in the film is actually a professional who taught me too on the sets. He showed me how to walk and give hand signals. I also did some knife training.
You are labelled as a romantic hero. Was it a conscious decision to do a film like Rashtra Kavach OM at this stage of your career?
I didn’t do this film wanting to break the image of a romantic hero. Rather, I wanted to do a full-on action film. I grew up watching action movies, so I thought it would be fun to be a part of one such film. You always do something that you haven’t done before. It wasn’t a conscious decision for sure.
Who is your inspiration in action in the Hindi film industry?
I think for me, it has to be Sanjay Dutt. He was the first one to build that kind of a physique back in the day with those long locks. It’s just amazing. Among my contemporaries, I think Tiger Shroff and John Abraham are good. They have done so many action films so far, and this is my first step into it.
Since Rashtra Kavach OM is your first theatrical release after the pandemic, are you jittery about the box office numbers?
I think whenever my film comes out, I get jitters, but they are welcome jitters. It has nothing to do with pre or post-pandemic. They are a part of the excitement of being in a film.
