Cpos :)) of Reel tollywood: TOI

REEL COPS ON PATROL

With more than half-a-dozen cop films on the anvil in Tollywood, the stars are sparing no effort to get their look right

Suresh Kavirayani

Cop films seem to be the latest flavour in T-Town. With Mahesh Babu's "Dookudu" and Pawan Kalyan's "Gabbar Singh" capturing the imagination of the audience and raking in the moolah at the BO, Tollywood, which is famous for its 'herd mentality', has now got at least six police films in the pipeline. But it's not as simple as slipping into the khaki and facing the camera when the director says 'Action'. New age reel cops are extra particular about getting the look and feel of their characters right so that they stand out from the rest.
Leading the pack is Ram Charan, who is concentrating on coming up with two convincing, yet different cop looks for "Zanjeer", his Bollywood debut, which will also release in Telugu, and "Yevadu", touted to have been inspired by the Hollywood hit "Face Off". In fact, the actor had two look books ready for "Zanjeer" before going ahead with the project. Even the smallest of details, like the style of sunglasses to the kind of sideburns he would sport, was worked upon. Apart from the regular uniform look, details of the actor's off-duty look were also fleshed out for that authentic touch. "Yes, a lot of emphasis has been given to the look in "Zanjeer" and the team put in ample research to make the character look and feel like the new age cop," admits Charan.
It's not just the wardrobe that is worked upon, but also the mannerisms and body language. Senior actor Rajasekhar, who is all set to play a police officer in two of his upcoming films "Mahankali" and "Arjun", is one such reel cop who's known to pull off his police roles very convincingly. In fact, way back in 1990, Rajasekhar's portrayal of an honest cop in the super hit film "Ankusam" had made a such an impact on the audiences, that for a long time honest strict cops were called 'Ankusam inspectors'! Little wonder then that great expectations are riding on the star. Talking about the legwork that goes into his characters when he dons khakhi, Rajasekhar says, "My dad was as a police officer and I always used to observe him very closely. Apart from the childhood influence, I have also done my research for the role by moving with officers and learning their mannerisms. That perhaps explains why I look and behave on screen like a real cop. That image is fixed in people's mind and they keep asking me when I will do another "Ankusam". My answer to them is — Watch "Mahankali"".
Rajasekhar isn't the only one known to do his homework well before he slips into uniform for the camera. T-Town actors like Jagapathi Babu and Venkatesh too have carried off roles of the good cop with lan in the past.
Walking down memory lane, Venkatesh says, "To prepare for my role in "Gharshana", I went to a police academy for a few days to observe the mannerisms of the officers there. And right from the moustache to the hair cut, I was styled to fit into the character."
Jagapathi Babu, who played an encounter specialist in many of his films, the recent one being "Siddham", says, "I was appreciated a lot for the realism I had infused into my character. For the role, I spent time with top cop Surender Reddy. I had to go in for a crew cut and my entire style had to change. It involved a lot of homework."
COP FILMS IN THE MAKING
Charan — Zanjeer (Telugu) & Yevadu Gopichand — Bhupati Pandian's untitled film Rajasekhar — Mahankali & Arjuna Maryam Zakaria — Arjuna Archana — Prematho Nuvvu Vasthavani Cut to the bunch of current films on the anvil, and it's not hard to see that Pawan Kalyan's portrayal of a 'rowdy cop' in "Gabbar Singh" is the new benchmark. With Pawan's personal stylist Rajesh More going all out to conjure up a look that would stay true to the character and strike a chord with the audience, other actors now have no option, but to walk that extra mile for their roles, to at least keep up with their peers. Gopichand, who had previously donned khaki, is all set to play a cop again in Bhupathi Pandian's untitled film. And this time, he will return in a smarter avatar, we hear.
While that's the story of the tough male cops, the ladies are not far behind. If in the past, we've had the likes of Vijayashanthi hogging the limelight for fiery cop roles, then now we have Maryam Zakaria and Archana all set to don the vardi. Talking about her preparation for the role, Archana says, "I am hitting the gym regularly because you need to be 100 per cent fit to play a cop. I have a lot of action scenes that demand physical strength and I am working out to cope up with it."
Even item girl-turned-actor Maryam Zakaria is kicked about her 'female cop' role. The gutsy actress says, "I'm the leading lady in "Arjuna" and I play a cop. I've done my own stunts in the flick." Way to go, we say!
suresh.kavirayani@gmail.com

Mariam Zakaria