Sorry if this has been posted before
Chowtime (BHANU UDAY)
Secret Service!
Special Squad may be a new crime serial on Star Plus, but it surely is catching on, especially in unveiling old skeletons from the echelons of crime. What's unique is its state-of-the-art forensic lab, supposed to be the best ever created, with which it solves crimes. Twenty-four-old Bhanu Uday plays the leader Aryan, who is driven to the point of obsession in solving crimes, despite the fact that he has lost his wife and child to a crime which he still has not been able to solve.
Take a trip into your past
I started acting ever since I was in class eight in Jammu. I did a lot of theatre in Jammu. I then came to Delhi and joined Hansraj College, after which I joined the National School of Drama and now after three years I am sitting here doing a serial.
Can you tell us how you got this role of Aryan?
It goes back to last year when I passed out in June from the National School of Drama. I got to Mumbai in August and began shooting for this show in September. I always wanted to make a career in the media, so I auditioned for this show called Hotel, which is still playing on Star One. I didn't get it, but the people there sent the tapes to UTV. They saw me and thought that I fit the role of Aryan. Thus, I got the role and am enjoying myself playing it. I've really been lucky to get a serial so fast. I've thus managed to make my presence felt in the few months I been here. Actually, my main goal was to get into films, but I guess there's a waiting period for everything.
What's your impression of your first serial?
I love it. Initially, when I came to Mumbai I thought I'd have to change my entire set-up, from a drama background to a more commercial arena. When I met Umesh Padalkar and got the script in my hand two months before shooting, I took it. I had a big file of papers and books on forensic science and stuff like that. This helped me know more about the role.
So, you did do any research before you took this serial on?
Yes, I read a lot of books and kept myself abreast of the crime world. It caters to a more mature audience. It was imperative that the serial should have well researched facts on crime detection and especially in the forensic lab work. We also paid a visit to the forensic lab at Santacruz to get a first person account on how it functions and the material they use there.
How would you classify this serial?
This is a forensic investigation show and we're making it more scientific, more real, and more intelligent. Here we are not deducing or deciding on who the killer must be, rather it's based on whatever forensic evidence is procured at the crime scene. Based on that, we start formulating the theories. The possibilities of the killer's identity or how the killing has taken place, is the big question. At any point of time it's the forensic department that leads the investigation. It could happen that certain clues are wrong. Then we go all over again and get new evidence to figure out how it all happened.
What's so special about this forensic lab?
The art director of the serial set up this lab. There is also a technical aspect that has gone into this show. The scenes have been shot on a steadycam. For this you need space, and sets that enhance the quality of the look of a serial. Thus, you see a lot of glass around. From any one point you can the entire set. This gives the effect that all the people are busy in the lab and busy with some activity or the other. Glass also gives style and looks good. There are no jazzy colours on the sets, but just a few dashes of a good setting.
So what roles would you like to play?
Complex ones! I hate one-directional or uni-dimensional roles. I hate playing the hero or the villain, but people with a complex, for there's more to it than you probably see. Any story will do, as long as its told truthfully and done with passion.
Have the Mumbai police or experts visited the forensic lab?
Yes, they have. The Chinese police force (forensic experts from China) was on a special visit to Mumbai to meet the Mumbai police. The Mumbai police brought them here to see our lab. They also saw a part of the shooting. They liked what they saw, but we couldn't gauge their reactions, as they were either mute reactions or they spoke in Chinese, which we couldn't understand.
Hasn't Hollywood beckoned you?
I'm doing a movie called Searching for Sahara directed by Nanda Anand. She is based in Hollywood and has been Woody Allen's associate. The cast includes Manoj Bajpai and myself. Among the girls, well they're all Americans. I don't know much about the girl opposite Manoj Bajpai, but my co-star is one of the girls who starred opposite Leonardo Di Caprio in The Aviator.
Would you take up an offer in Bollywood?
Absolutely! If I have a good director and a good script that I fancy, I'll definitely take it. After all, that's what I'm here for.
So when do you plan to nab the killers of your family?
You'll have to ask the writers, but obviously it'll feature at the end of the serial, while I've just begun.
Verus Ferreira.
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