Vicky Kaushal is one of the most versatile actors in Bollywood industry. The critically acclaimed actor is now all set to step into the shoes of the freedom fighter, Sardar Udham Singh for his upcoming film.
Titled Sardar Udham the film is directed by Shoojit Sircar. The movie’s trailer was released recently on Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s 114th birth anniversary and the film is slated to release on October 16 on Amazon Prime Video.
Calling the movie an emotional journey while comparing it with his previous hit Uri Vicky says, “Uri was more of a physical process, and it was essential to comprehend and analyse the body language of an Indian army officer. Sardar Udham has been an emotional journey, and the preparation was to understand the core of the character. It was more about how I was breathing than about how I was walking or moving around. It was indeed a big responsibility to essay the role of Sardar Udham Singh because here was a man, who has made the ultimate sacrifice for his nation.”
The movie follows the story of Indian revolutionary, Sardar Udham Singh, who assassinated Michael O’Dwyer to avenge the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. The National Film Award winner describes the role as the toughest of his career. “It was nerve-racking at times to even understand how he could harbour the thought — of taking revenge and avenging the death of those killed in Jallianwala Bagh — for almost two decades. I had to understand the psyche of the man who had lived this moment. How he held that thought together for years, and he did not change one bit to achieve his goal. A line in the film says, ‘I don’t feel pain, and I don’t get sleep’. And that is what happened to me. I was wondering how he managed to do that, and I would freeze in my thoughts,” he was quoted saying.
Revealing how he spent sleepless nights while prepping for the role, he shares, “As an actor, you start play-acting the role, and soon you start living the character and his thoughts. There is also a portion when he experiences the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy. Honestly, that rouses and shakes you up. I could not sleep at night during the shooting, merely thinking how a man could have lived and experienced this. It wasn’t a week or a month but 21 years of his life, which is almost like his entire life. If I could not get that feeling when I was acting, I wouldn’t have been able to perform it. If I even got one per cent of what he was thinking, and it was a heavy and impactful feeling, imagine what Sardar Udham would have gone through.”
When the shoot for the movie started, Vicky had a cracked jaw, 13 stitches and a scar on his face owing to an injury. “I called Shoojitda and informed him. So, the scar I have in the film is real and got incorporated in the film.”
Vicky further adds that the film is just not the story of Sardar Udham. “Our film is not a biopic of Sardar Udham Singh, but it is a biopic of his ideologies. There is nothing time-bound about the dogmas that you adhere to. They never fade. The truth will remain the same — be it in the past, present or in the future. Ditto with emotions. They always assume some form. People have connected earlier and will continue to do so,” he explains.
Vicky is a team worker and appreciates the efforts of every person involved in the making of a film. “As an actor, one puts his best into every scene. Emotional scenes and action sequences take a lot out of you mentally and physically, and that is the high you get. Everyone says you are a star when the film does well. But I don’t necessarily congratulate myself. It is the effort of the entire team. Everyone puts in their best into a film,” he signs off.
