MUMBAI: Vishal Jethwa, who plays a terminally ill boy in the upcoming Kajol-starrer 'Salaam Venky', watched videos of people living with DMD (Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy) to prepare for his role.
The film directed by Revathy shows Vishal's character fighting for every moment of happiness, very much like his mother, despite his quickly deteriorating condition.
Talking about what helped him get into the skin of the character, Vishal said, "Ever since I started my journey as an actor, I understood that I am a director's actor. I always try to figure out what my director is expecting from me and I try to deliver it."
Vishal added that he closely observed the mannerisms of DMD patients, and their routine.
He said, "To get into the character of 'Venkatesh', I saw several videos of DMD patients as it's a rare disease and not many are aware about it. I saw many videos to study how the patients behave, how they talk, their body language, their daily routine, until which age what body parts support them, and so on. I tried to give my best to potray the character realistically."
Apart from Kajol and Vishal Jethwa, the film also stars Rahul Bose, Rajeev Khandelwal, Prakash Raj, Kamal Sadanah and Ahana Kumra in pivotal roles.
Presented by Connekkt Media and produced by Suuraj Sinngh, Shraddha Agrawal and Varsha Kukreja under the banner BLIVE Productions and RTAKE Studios, 'Salaam Venky' is set to release in cinemas on December 9.