Ruthless villain is crucial to a Bollywood project. It is his defeat that cements the position of a hero. And, if the hero is a larger-than-life figure like Salman Khan, who is much celebrated across the country as bhai, choosing a villain becomes even more difficult.
It is perhaps why the makers picked up Kannada actor Sudeep to do justice to this role in Dabangg 3.
“I had to look bigger than him [Salman], and that was the biggest responsibility. Otherwise, it will look like he is hitting a child. It was difficult keeping in mind Salman sir’s aura but I guess we worked it out and did a good job,” says Sudeep, while admitting that he is not fond of playing a villain and wouldn’t have done this project had it not been Salman Khan.
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When asked why and if he finds it difficult to be a villain, especially when he is celebrated for being a hero, so much so that he is called ‘Kiccha’ after the role of a politician he played in a 2003 film of the same title, he answers blatantly. “It is difficult when you carry baggage. You have to be little uncorrupted. Either don’t accept a film or be submissive to it entirely. I accepted it only because it is Salman Sir’s film. I don’t think I will accept such roles again – of being a total baddie. If you take Makkhi (Naan Ee, Eega, 2012), I was playing an antagonist but I was not a villain altogether, I was the lead, maybe in a negative role but nobody is hitting or kicking me. But, not every film is worth with you being a baddie, what should I do it for? On the same dates, I can do another film in Kannada.”
An intense sequence at the end of the film will see Sudeep and Salman fighting each other bare chested. Sudeep says he wasn’t confident of doing a shirtless scene as he was not fit “I have lost a lot of weight... from 89kgs, I have come down to 74kgs. Luckily I was doing Pehalwaan (Pailwaan in Kannada), which placed me in a better place and gave me confidence to do certain things in this film. I had to a little bit of more workout,” he admits. When asked if there was any particular fitness regimen that he followed, the actor said that he did all sort of workouts that are done in a gym like functional training, cardio, weight training and focused on areas like abs, chest and shoulders. “Diet is also very important. Eat less and eat on time. And, spend time on your health,” he adds.
For the sequence, they had a 22-day-long shooting schedule and it was reported that there was a particular kicking shot that he found challenging. When quizzed about the same, the actor said, “Kicking him wasn’t the problem, but it was kicking him in the chest. I did it once or twice but they wanted more pressure so that was getting a bit difficult. Apart from that, everything was fine.”
Sudeep has also dubbed for his character in Dabangg 3. When asked how comfortable is he with the language, he said, “Hindi is not my language but aisa nahi hai ki baat nahi kar sakta (it’s not like I can’t talk in Hindi). I have a beautiful way of dubbing and I manage that very well.”
This is not the first time that Sudeep is doing a Bollywood film. In the past, he has worked with Ram Gopal Varma in his films like Phoonk, Rann, Phoonk 2 and Rakta Charitra. When asked if this is his Bollywood stint 2.0, the actor said, “There is no ‘coming again’ happening here. I am happy doing what I am doing there [Kannada film industry]. At the end of the day, we are all doing films and we are all recognised for what we do in the South.”
Is there any role he wishes to do or any director that he wishes to work with?
“I wish whatever comes my way, I do well. I don’t crave for something that is not mine. No character is beautiful on the script level, it is only the actor who makes it looks nice. If something comes to me, I should do it well and that’s the challenge.”