New Delhi: Sanjeev Jaiswal, who has been featured as Ajmal Amir Kasab in Ram Gopal Varma's latest film based on the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008, has striking similarities with Kasab. The world saw the CCTV grabs of Kasab creating havoc on the roads of Mumbai. The calmness with which the dreaded terrorist massacred the innocent people was not only disturbing but was the hint of the preparation they have been given before the D-day.
Jaiswal is from Jamshedpur, Jharkhand and has been doing theatres since long but his foray into films is going to remain with him for a long time. One of the prime reasons of the audience's interest in the film was the hanging of Kasab, and thus people were eager to see the profile shots of the actor playing Kasab. Ram Gopal Varma must have heaved a sigh of relief after getting the initial reactions to the casting of Jaiswal as Kasab. The actor has the right physique and face to imitate Kasab on-screen.
Getting the right person for a crucial job might not have been as easy as it seemed on the screen. Imagine the number of parameters the actor needs to meet if he or she is enacting a character which is widely and recently seen by the audience.
The film was promoted as the true account of the developments of November 26, 2008, so who would believe the film if the only known face of the entire proceeding is not going to look believable.
Everything from the height to the stride of Jaiswal was scrutinised before considering him for the role, however the task was not finished yet. It's a film that too with a possibility of invoking extreme emotions, and what other than dialogue can bring out the inner soul of the character.
One would have gone for dubbing as well but RGV doesn't prefer it. From Mohanlal (Company) and Kota Srinivasa Rao to Jeeva (Sarkar), he has preferred the dialogue with accent rather than taking someone else's voice. It is also helpful in giving authenticity to the characters so the person who was supposed to play Kasab was also expected to mouth dialogues. Here was another catch as Kasab was from Pakistan so the actor was required to have a particular dialect touch.
The list of demands wasn't small and actor's understanding of camera angles and mannerism were just other additions into it.
Sanjeev Jaiswal's theatre background and experience in Delhi would have helped him in honing his language skills which ultimately paved his way to 'The Attacks of 26/11'.
However, such roles have a flip side as well as the actor always feel the pressure of being typecast, especially when he has been liked as a particular character.
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