Jehanabad – Of Love and War is the latest web series that is garnering rave reviews for its gripping story, powerful performances and an honest attempt to highlight the grotesque caste politics that has plagued the country since time immemorial. The crime-thriller show is set in the backdrop of an actual event that had taken place way back in 2005 when 372 inmates had escaped from Jehanabad jail after a Naxalites attack. As the Ritwik Bhowmik, Harshita Gaur, Satyadeep Misra, Rajat Kapoor starrer continue to get love from the viewers, Danish Kalra, who played a prominent role, talked about his character in detail.
During an exclusive interview with News18 Showsha, Danish, who essayed Sonu, an unsuspecting and relatively good-at-heart individual in the 10-epsiodes series, talked about the challenges he faced while preparing for the same. Since he hails from Punjab, it was paramount for him to get the right texture of the local Bihari dialect. Danish revealed, “I wanted to adapt my character to its most nascent form. So for me to get the quirks right, I had a dialect coach that guided me throughout. Apart from that, I would regularly watch news channels based out of states of UP and Bihar. I would observe the minute of details the anchors would exude. Right from the diction and enunciation of words to their mannerisms. My directors Rajeev Barnwal and Satyanshu Singh also aided me in this and probably that’s how I was able to shed my Punjabi-ness and could do justice to Sonu.”
Danish also explained why he wanted to be as precise as possible towards Sonu, “It was not like I was the lone actor playing a Bihari character. So many artists before me have portrayed them across movies and web series. But mostly they end up becoming caricature-ish and stereotyped. I wanted to break that image. I wanted Sonu to be organic and natural even if I had to go that extra mile.’
The actor also reflected on why his character was important to him. “Sonu is innocent, righteous, inherently kind and empathetic. When there are dark shades to everyone else in the show, Sonu is the only person who is pure. He is good to everyone. He comes without any inhibitions. Those are the qualities I would like to imbibe in my life,” said Danish.
Recalling his experience from the sets, Danish shared that Rajat Kapoor, despite being the most senior and experienced, was probably the most humble and forthcoming actor. He stated, “Before he even started his schedule with us, I felt intimidated and nervous since I’ve been an ardent admirer of his work and I didn’t want to mess up or anything. But to my surprise, he was always calm and easily approachable. I used to have conversations with him about books and so many different topics. It was refreshing.”
As for the leading actors Ritwik Bhowmik, Harshita Gaur, and Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Danish disclosed, “Ritwik Bhowmik is on a mission in the fictional setup of Jehanabad but he also approached his role akin to some kind of mission. Harshita Gaur is well-versed with her craft and Parambrata Chattopadhyay exudes brilliance in whatever he does. I believe everyone right from the leading actors to the supporting actors were carefully chosen and did utmost justice to the script.”
Additionally, Danish formed a bond with his on-screen Mama Rajesh Jais, “He played Mama and I played Bhaanja. But by the time we wrapped up the show, our real life bond also got solidified like that. There was never a dull day with him. And as most of my scenes were with him only, we established a special rapport with each other,” emphasized the actor.
Besides Jehanabad, Danish Kalra was also a part of Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Kabir Singh, the Hindi remake of Vijay Deverakonda starrer Arjun Reddy that featured Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani. However, the particular scene he shot for didn’t make it to the final cut. Reminiscing about the feeling of dejection when that happened, the actor revealed, “I was utterly disheartened. And they didn’t even communicate to me that my scene was cut from the final edit. It was only during the premiere when I realized that my part was chopped down altogether. And to my best of knowledge, I couldn’t comprehend why that scene was omitted considering the fact that it showed a different side of Kabir Singh. I just sat there as I exchanged glances with everyone in the theatre. My parents kept calling me and it was embarrassing for me to tell them anything. I felt like storming out of there.”
Danish recalled how he coped with that, “I cried my eyes out for days. It was my initial days of acting so processing that kind of rejection was tough. But I came out of it stronger. I have become more thick-skinned now and If I am doing any project, I don’t expect anything out of it. I just give my best and leave the rest on fate to determine. Being detached from the outcome has helped me become more practical and patient,” he recalled.
Later when the deleted scene was uploaded on Youtube, it garnered 1.3 Crore views with netizens praising Danish’s performance, “There was a silver lining after all. I am glad,” he added.
When asked about his thoughts on nepotism and whether OTT has given a new lease of life to actors that otherwise had a hard time struggling to get recognition, Danish Kalra quipped, “Nepotism exists and it’s very much there and I am glad people are talking about it. There are so many actors(without taking any names) who keep getting projects despite churning out flops only because of their names. It’s not necessarily bad all the time since it has given us talented actors like Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt but majorly it’s detrimental for new actors. Probably that’s why the industry went through a slump last year and it needs to invest in new talents.”
However, Danish concurs that OTT has given opportunities not only to the actors that are struggling to make ends meet but also to people who had the itch to perform but had to change course of careers, “Take Jehanabad for example. We shot in the remotest of places and employed new actors hailing from Bihar. It gave them an opportunity to exhibit their mettle and make our show even more natural and well-balanced. So OTT is a diverse playground for actors like me. It’s rare to have A-listers and mainstream stream Bollywood actors to take part in web-series. The platform is entirely made for a new breed of actors that can pull off such roles with conviction. So definitely OTT has been a game-changer for everyone,” concluded Danish.
Jehanabad -Of Love & War is now streaming on SonyLIV App.
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