Shreyas Talpade thinks it’s time to uncork the champagne. Last month, he landed an exciting biographical role. The personality: former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Period: the Emergency, in a movie of the same name. Director: Kangana Ranaut. The shooting for the film began in July, and it is set to release in April 2023.
Soon after photographs of Talpade’s Vajpayee look were released online, social media was flooded with comments on the uncanny resemblance between the actor and the statesman. “Even putting on makeup to look like Atalji, a leader who I have deep admiration for, gave me goosebumps. The role will be
a milestone in my career. I hope I can do justice to the legend,” says the 46-year-old actor, producer and director whose roles, both in Marathi and Hindi cinema, have been lauded widely. He is best known for a variety of roles such as the titular character in the Marathi film Baji (2020), as a chief minister in the Marathi movie Poshter Boys (2014) and in equally impactful roles in hit Hindi movies such as Iqbal (2005) and Om Shanti Om (2007).
Talpade just wrapped up shooting for Sar Car Ki Seva Mei, his second Hindi directorial after Poster Boys (2017), where he also plays the protagonist. “It's a slice-of-life story about a middle-class youth obsessed with landing a sarkari naukri, but fails to do so,” says Talpade. This year, he also returns to the Marathi cinema after a gap of seven years with the film Aapdi Thaapdi opposite Mukta Bharwe. It is, however, Talpade’s April OTT release, the sports biopic Kaun Pravin Tambey? which is still generating buzz online after five months of its release.
“It is for such moments that actors live and die. Any role that continues to impact viewers long enough for them to remember and tweet about it is a solid one,” he remarks. In a career spanning over two decades, Talpade started off in television in the ’90s. He debuted in Bollywood with the Akshay Kumar-starrer Aankhen (2002).
It was, however, Nagesh Kukunoor’s Iqbal (2005), in which he played a deaf and mute aspiring cricketer, which put him in the spotlight. He went on to star in several successful films such as Dor, Apna Sapna Money Money, Housefull 2 and the Golmaal series.
Last year, he was also dubbed for the iconic character of Pushpa Raj in the Hindi version of Allu Arjun’s blockbuster Pushpa-The Rule. “I saw the rushes of the Telugu version and understood Arjun’s swag. I loved the irreverence in his voice in Telugu and incorporated the same effect when I dubbed for him,” he recalls. Talpade’s rendition of the popular dialogue “Jhukega nahi”, has earned him more fans than ever. He is now looking forward to doing an encore with the sequel Pushpa-The Rise, expected to release in 2023. As he awaits the formal announcement, the versatile actor says utilising every opportunity that comes by is crucial. “In 2019, I dubbed for Disney animation Lion King, and the dubbing crew recommended my name for Pushpa,” he says.
Despite an impressive body of work on screen ––over 43 films and a dozen TV roles––Marathi theatre is his first love. Talpade launched 9Rasa in 2021, an OTT platform dedicated to the performing arts.
“I have funded it myself. This is my way of helping theatre artists who suffered during the pandemic,” he says. 9Rasa has about 100 hours of content, featuring 42 plays, 25 skits and 30 stand-up acts in Marathi and Hindi, and 30 more such pieces are under production. Where does Talpade derive his inspiration from for the vast repertoire of roles he plays?
“I keep my eyes and ears open, throughout the day, to capture sights and sounds that I can incorporate into my characters. Every person I see or meet is my guru,” he says. When not shooting, Talpade loves playing cricket or sharing a meal with their wife Deepti, a clinical psychologist, who also helps with the production work for 9Rasa. But all the time, he lives and breathes cinema.