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MAKING A COMEBACK ON TV WITH BHARAT KA VEER PUTRA MAHARANA PRATAP, SSHARAD MALHOTRA OPENS UP ON ALL THAT IT TOOK TO FINALLY BAG THE HISTORICAL CHARACTERRenu BhatnagarHow did you bag the role? After shooting for my upcoming movie three months ago, I wanted to come back to television.Television is a very powerful medium through which you can connect with your fans even in the interiors of the country. The scenario has completely changed from six years ago when I did my first show Banoo Main Teri Dulhann. People like Mr Bachchan ( Amitabh Bachchan) are setting a great example, especially when you see him going into every home via television.The idea was to get back to television in a big way, and what better combination than Contiloe Telefims and Sony TV. Out of 500 odd people they auditioned, about 10 to 15 people were short- listed, some of them are my close friends.Bagging this role was a great deal. Maharana Pratap is a larger- than- life character and playing him on screen is a great challenge.Is there a continuity of character that you need to maintain? If Faisal has played my younger version, I will have to be equally good or probably a notch higher. To achieve that, I am training in horse riding and martial arts for the last three weeks. As time goes by, I hope to perfect my skills.Have you watched the past episodes of Maharana Pratap? Honestly, no. Since I was shooting for my film, I didn't have the time. What caught my eye was the promo that I happened to see one day. In fact, my dad has been watching it right from day one, which he never told me. So the day I signed my contract and told him about it, he was completely silent for a moment. I wondered if I had made a wrong decision or did something that he didn't want me to do. He was so overwhelmed and choked. It was a great feeling knowing that my dad is a huge fan of the serial and how he loved Faisal who played Pratap so brilliantly. So taking the baton from him and moving on is a challenge.How are you preparing to match up to the younger Pratap's martial art and horse riding skills? Initially, I was very, very scared of horses. But thankfully, I have a lovely trainer in Mr Jeetu Verma. He and his team got me hooked on to it and now I have a full grown beautiful white horse.This is just like the Maharana's Chetak. You find these stately horses only in Rajasthan. He's a very intelligent horse. He understands all instructions. I'm bonding with him every day. Every morning I carry a lot of carrots, chana and jaggery that's how I need to woo him since we have to be on the same page. We're getting really close to each other.Have you met your younger version, Faisal? I met him for the first time when I went for my final look test on the sets. I was in my costume and he barged into my room and said, ' Bhaiya, I've heard a lot about you and I really wanted to meet you.' So I asked him ' Good or bad?' That's how we cracked the ice. We got along very well. After signing the contract and completing all the formalities, I went to the sets some time last week and I remember clicking my first selfie with him.Faisal is known for his back flips and cart wheels. Have you also acquired those skills? Did he give you any tips? He has played the character of Pratap so beautifully for the last one year, so I was very keen to know what was going on in his mind. How he felt playing the character of Maharana. Did he still feel like a Maharana? Is he tired or unhappy now that I'm taking off from where he left? And he just smiled and said, ' I'm really happy that Maharana has gone to you and nobody else!' And that is a great responsibility of taking over from him and taking it to a different level. I'm really looking forward to it. Whenever I'm on the sets and if he's there, I always meet him. I'm being trained and am hoping to match up to his level. At this moment, we are concentrating on the body language, posture, how I'm going to walk or talk like a warrior.What is the significant difference between the younger and the older Pratap? Will you be allowed the same creative liberties that Faisal was allowed? There will be some similarities but many differences too. Every actor perceives a character in his own way. Faisal has his own style, I will have my own style and way of projecting Maharana Pratap.While history of the younger Pratap is not so well known, that of the older Pratap is, do you feel some kind of pressure? The important part is how you deal with the pressure and how much you enjoy playing a certain character. I love taking challenges. I've been reading a lot on Maharana Pratap. I discovered some very interesting facts about the Maharana and one was that he always carried two swords. That was because during a fight if his opponent didn't have a sword, he would give it to him. As a principle, he would never fight a nihatta ( one without a weapon in his hand). He believed that his opponent should be equally equipped. Another one was that on the battle field, he would slay the person in two halves vertically from head to toe, never horizontally. It is these unique qualities that make Maharana, the Maharana Pratap. And yet he was a jolly, good natured man who loved his people, his motherland and his parents.Top of his priority was his love for his kingdom Mewar and his own mother.You will also have to match up to the chemistry that Pratap shared with Ajabde.Have you met the new Ajabde, Rachana Parulkar? I've met her only once and I'm really looking forward to working with Rachana. She's not only popular but also a brilliant actor and I'll be shooting with her soon. We hope to create the same chemistry and hope to take both Maharana Pratap and Ajabde to a different level.
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