Travelling, learning, filming: Bobby Simha reflects on his journey with 'Indian 2'
While shooting for Shankar-Kamal Haasan’s Indian 2, actor Bobby Simha got to travel across several states in India. “We travelled to so many states, shooting across cities and villages, it was tough to keep track,” says Bobby Simha. At times, he did get time to explore, “I had a lot of scenes with the late Vivekh sir.
Whenever we had some time, we both would set out to explore the location. We sampled street food and local cuisine from Rajasthan, MP, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh. Vivekh sir also knew a lot about temples and he would take me along with him.” Travelling across the Northern states, Bobby was pleasantly surprised when people recognised him.
“I understood then the reach of our dubbed films.” Shooting with Kamal Haasan for the first time in his career, was an unforgettable experience for the actor. “I consider it a huge honour to be part of this film and I’m indebted to Shankar sir for it.
To actually share screenspace with Kamal sir, that too in his iconic Indian thatha look, gave me goosebumps.” When he didn’t have scenes, Bobby Simha would spend time watching Kamal Haasan perform. “It was mindblowing to watch him in action.
The way he would emote despite the prosthetics, his eye movements, his reactions, and the way he changed his walk according to the screen age of his character, was just amazing. Due to prosthetics, he couldn’t eat for up to ten hours. He could only drink liquids through a straw. It was very inspiring to see his dedication,” says the actor.
During breaks, he got time to speak to Kamal. “He was very friendly with us. He would talk about the days he spent with the late Sivaji Ganesan sir. When I asked him about his films like Guna, Dasavatharam, and Mumbai Express, he would very patiently and enthusiastically, narrate his experiences working on these films.”
Watching director Shankar on set, Bobby noticed his extreme professionalism. “The way he handled a particular chase scene involving thousands of junior artists was just incredible to watch.” He also noticed the gentle nature of the director on set.
“Shankar sir is simplicity personified. He has the greatest respect for his artists and technicians. He would never scold anyone, nor raise his voice. Once, when a new actor was taking too many takes for a shot, Shankar sir, who was far away, walked all the way to the newcomer and spoke to him gently. He explained how Kamal sir’s prosthetic make-up could only last for a limited time and requested the artist to concentrate. His dedication and passion for cinema is mindblowing to watch,” he signs off.