Kesari villain Rakesh Chaturvedi Om says Akshay Kumar was a different person on sets

Rakesh Chaturvedi Om plays the leader of 10000 Afghan soldiers who fight against Akshay and his 21 soldiers in Kesari. The two actors worked together in PadMan earlier.

Akshay Kumar is known for his pranks -- be it on the sets of his films or his own house. However, Kesari saw the actor in an altogether different mood -- serious and focussed simply on his character. In fact, his co-star from PadMan Rakesh Chaturvedi Om, who plays the villain in the upcoming Battle of Saragarhi film, says Akshay was a different person altogether.

Kesari has Akshay Kumar commanding the Sikh battalion that took a last stand against 10000 Afghan soldiers in the Battle of Sargarhi.

Rakesh Chaturvedi Om in a still from Kesari trailer.

“Akshay sir is known for his pranks on the sets but the kind of sincerity I saw in him during Kesari was amazing. I have worked with him in PadMan but it was a different person on the sets of Kesari. It was as if the heaviness of the character and seriousness of the film seeped into his personality, on the set,” Rakesh said.

The actor added, “We began shooting around 7am and Akshay sir would never take lunch. The makeup team would put a very heavy turban and beard on Akshay sir before he began shooting. Between the shots, he was carrying the weight of his character.”

Watch Kesari trailer here:

Kesari is based on the Battle of Saragarhi fought between the British Indian Army’s Sikh Regiment and Afghan tribesmen in September 1897. The British Indian contingent comprising 21 Sikh soldiers were attacked by around 10,000 Afghans and they decided to fight to death. The battle is considered by some as one of history’s greatest last-stands. Akshay plays the turban-clad Havildar Ishar Singh who leads the small group of Indian soldiers.

Rakesh’s role in the film has already inspired a trend of sorts. When the trailer of the film came out, the one scene that meme-makers zeroed in on was Akshay telling an Afghan, “Chal Jhootha!” The scene inspired memes online and Rakesh -- as the challenger in the scene -- found himself some sudden fame.

While he is glad that people remembered the scene, the way he looked at the sequence is very different. “We do not know what emotion will overcome us, we call that ‘surprising emotion’ in acting language. When we are performing a scene, we do not plan the emotion of a particular dialogue and we realise it while delivering.The first scene that I shot with Akshay sir, for Kesari, was the one that you saw in the trailer. It was in that particular scene that I found my character’s truth.”

Talking about his role, he added, “I play the Afghan antagonist opposite Akshay sir and my character causes a major conflict in the war that the film talks about. If I reveal more, the surprising part of the film’s story will be out and I cannot do that. I can assure you that my character was a part of history and Anurag Singh has dramatised it pretty well,” Rakesh added.

Rakesh revealed that rigorous military training was a part of their workshop for Kesari. “Anurag (Singh) organised a month long workshop for us and it was a such an enriching experience that by the time we began shooting, everyone had a clearly seen the movie, visually, in their minds. The workshop also involved military training. Every person you will see in the film as part of the troop has undergone rigourous training. One person even broke his leg and had to be operated. Thankfully, he recovered well in time to join us on the shoot,” he signed off.

Interact with the author @swetakaushal

Follow @htshowbiz for more