Akanksha Soni talks to Kettan Singh about playing triple role in Shankar Jai Kishan and working in a comedy drama
What prompted you to take up triple role of Shankar, Jai and KishanIJ
I knew that the challenge to play a triple role that would give me great exposure. Being a mimic, this role was easier for me to play. I have so many characters inside me already which I can play here.
What is the comedy quotient hereIJ
It is situational. My character keeps getting caught in difficult situations with his mother. He pretends to be a good son, the only child surviving an accident that involved his other two brothers. When his mother calls for the others, I have to make an excuse run and change, and that gets me into trouble. The show is a light-hearted comedy.
Who is your favourite character to play out of Shankar, Jai and KishanIJ
I am actually not just playing a triple but a quadruple role. I am playing my father as well. He is my favourite character. He is a force to be reckoned with. It feels great to play him.
What was the most difficult thing about doing so many rolesIJ
It is a huge challenge. Every character has a different persona, and the costume, looks and makeup, all have to be changed over and over for different scenes. Every character has a different dialect, way of dialogue delivery and body language, so that took a lot of patience and work to perfect.
What did you do to prepare for this roleIJ
I am first a voice-over artist and a mimic artist. Then I am an actor. I believe that came in very helpful in sort of grasping the different roles and accents. To play Jai, a Haryanvi police inspector, I perfected my ascent by watching and re-watching Kangana Ranaut’s movies as she has acquired the best Haryanvi accent. I also watched Dangal to perfect the character.
Any scene that made you feel uncomfortableIJ
No! There is no scene like that as it is clean comedy show. But it is very exhausting to play triple role. I am on the sets shooting all the time — 15 hours a day shooting, changing, makeup and shooting again. But it is fun too. I am enjoying every minute of it.
How is your relationship with your co-actorsIJ
Oh they’re great and very helpful. When it comes to the Haryanvi accent, Chitrashi Rawat is an expert and helps me with the dialogues, and when it comes to Punjabi, I can count on Kirtida Mistry. It’s a lot of fun shooting on set with them, especially because the dialogues are so funny that it makes us laugh out loud during the shoots.