Arjun Rampal, who is excited about his film Daddy, takes out time during his visit to Delhi for the film's promotion and talks about the need to create a balance while working on a biopic. By Angela Paljor
After a series of downfalls, actor Arjun Rampal is staking it all by producing, co-writing and acting in Daddy, the film that humanises don-turned politician Arun Gawli beyond the headline and statistics.
That’s because Rampal strongly feels the need to highlight all the shades of a character while working on a biopic. And a known figure allows for that layering and complexity.
“It is essential to create a balance when you are dealing with a real life character. It can easily look like one is justifying the path that the character has turned to. Our approach has been simple yet unique as it shows Gawli in all the shades and from various perspectives – the locals, the police and the man himself,” shares Rampal who is eagerly awaiting the date for the release of his film. Once you have watched the film, he promises that one would feel compassionate towards him along with seeing his dark side.
Talking about the film, Rampal said, “Till date no such movie has been made on a living gangster. We have even purchased the rights for distribution in a rural area. Usually there comes a bias while making a biopic. But a detailed research throws up something else.”
The 44-year-old actor found Gawli an intellectual being who “like any other individual has faced plenty of problems.” It was this aspect that made Rampal take up this project.
And a lot is at stake for the model-turned-actor who made his debut in 2001 in Raji Rai’s Pyaar, Ishq Aur Mohabbat, as he has had a string of flops recently. Rock-On 2 and Kahaani 2, both sequels of successful movies, did not particularly set the box-office on fire. Moreover, it is the second time around that a movie has been named after a character that Rampal plays, the first being Ra-One.
However, the usual formula of making a film was not used here. While the actor was approached with a biopic of Gawli, he found it exceptionally diluted and at once rejected it. It was once he started his research work that he got to know the real person. Then he started compiling the stories into a script but the earlier team took a step back. It was at this point that he approached Ashim Ahluwalia, the director. “I was hesitant at first as he is a very outspoken person. I was scared about the fact that he will say it is not worth working on. But he did say yes, ‘we both can work together’ and thats how it all started,” shares Rampal.
It was his sheer interest and passion to work towards this film that made it possible. “When I started working on this project, Gawli was in jail and we didn’t have the rights reserved. Also, there were many people who came from abroad for the shooting. We had already cancelled the dates twice and if we did the same thing again we would have lost our crew. So, I decided to start the shooting and in the end everything came together.”
Talking about his character, Rampal says, “My character in reality is an unusual gangster. When he saw that certain areas had no electricity or water, he made sure they were available 24X7. Since his character is known all over Maharashtra, we had to be careful about the looks, the way I carried myself. So the first thing was to get an artificial nose attached. It meant hours of makeup. I also had to lose 11 kg and not go to the gym for a pretty long time.” It was his love for the realistic genre of film-making which led him to work with utmost commitment and excellence.
The film was scheduled to release on July 21 but got extended. Rampal clarifies that the film was already shot and ready but “we received a request from Gawli’s daughter asking if the dates could be extended as he would be out of jail for Ganesh Chaturthi.”
Photos: Pankaj Kumar