Faisal & Shakti Anand on their roles:IE

The Popular Prince

Faisal Khan as Maharana Pratap in Bharat Ka Veer Putra: Maharana Pratap (Sony)

In Costume: The 15-year-old Dance India Dance winner, Faisal Khan doesn't show even an iota of nervousness in his first acting job as Maharana Pratap. "Becoming Pratap meant understanding the character's mindset, body language, the age and era he came from, and his code of conduct," says the young actor. Of course the baubles choke him, and the turban and yards of clothes are tedious to wear, for there are a lot of stunts that Pratap has to undertake and costumes also become overbearing for the same reason. "The cuts and bruises apart, I am loving it, for it's learning process," says Khan.

Role Play: So who says playing a warrior prince is easy. As Khan says, "I will never forget horse riding and stunts with elephants around me. Also, recently, there was a dance sequence in the show, and it gave the dancer in me a platform to display my talent."

Fan Fanatics: "There are so many. However, just recently my fans made a short film on me and put up a collage of my pictures on Facebook. It's very touching and memorable," says Khan.

Alter Ego: "Once face to face with Maharana Pratap, first, I would ask him to take me to his time and live the whole episode. Second, I would like to request him to let me ride his horse, Chetak once. And finally, I would wish for him to stay with me forever," he says.

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The Fair King

Shakti Anand as Rana Udai Singh in Bharat Ka Veer Putra: Maharana Pratap (Sony)

In Costume: "When it comes to historicals and mythology, the challenge is always of appearance and dialogue delivery. Be it costumes or the entire look, everything is larger-than-life," says Anand, a pharmaceutical engineer who left his job to pursue acting in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, then Crime Patrol and now Maharana Pratap. Anand brings out Rana's stiffness, rigidity and authoritarian and commanding temperament well. "It took me time to get used to the turban and moustache," he says, adding how for saas-bahu shows, one takes hardly 10 minutes to dress up, but here, it takes around one hour. "But once you get used to it, you start feeling like a king, walking and talking like him, for you are on a pedestal and people look up to you," he says.

Role Play: "Rana Udai Singh has this fixed gaze, a stern look, and so I think he mustn't have blinked much. So, I experimented with doing away with blinking. I hardly blink anymore," he says. Sometimes, the actor carries 'Rana' home, and laughs how he orders his wife around, "khaana pesh kiya jaaye," he says.😆

Fan Fanatics: "Well, there was a man in Canada who has been following the show, and is apparently obsessed with me. He came to see me in Canada and has been writing to me since then to let him touch my feet, or send him a picture of my feet so that he can pay his respects everyday."

Alter Ego: "If I meet the real Rana Udai Singh, I would love to time travel with him when Pratap was 15 and go horse riding with them. I would also like to see him with all his 20 wives in one room and how he manages them for it's difficult managing one. His house must've been like the Bigg Boss house. I also want to learn sword fighting," he says.😛

Article - http://www.indianexpress.com/news/god-lord---the-kings/1181074/0