Manu Rishi Chadha has earned praise for his portrayal of former Pakistan President and Army Chief Pervez Musharraf in Operation Safed Sagar. His character is the military mastermind who orchestrated the political and strategic moves behind the Kargil War. But how did he inhabit the character of the real-life figure? The actor reveals in an interaction with news agency PTI that he saw YouTube videos, and then there was some valuable advice from Nawazuddin Siddiqui too. (Also read: Operation Safed Sagar actor Siddharth says if Ajay Ahuja was not a soldier, he might have been an artist)
About Operation Safed Sagar
Inspired by the Indian Air Force's role during the 1999 Kargil War, Operation Safed Sagar follows the Golden Arrows Squadron as a group of young fighter pilots undertake high-altitude combat missions while navigating the emotional and personal costs of war. Chadha is part of the show's ensemble cast that also includes Jimmy Shergill, Siddharth, Abhay Verma, Adil Hussain, Mihir Ahuja, Taaruk Raina, Arnav Bhasin, Amrita Bagchi, Dia Mirza and Prajakta Koli.
"Musharraf was a real person, but what mattered first was what had been written about him and how he would behave. I started looking for ways to understand him. You can learn a lot from YouTube - his mannerisms, the way he spoke and so on. For me, adopting the way he spoke would have been easy. And being comfortable is very important when you are playing a character," he said.
On Nawazuddin helping him
He then credited fellow actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui for helping him understand how to approach the character of Musharraf. “When I went on YouTube, I found a lot of things interesting. But then I happened to meet Nawazuddin Siddiqui. I was actually there to narrate a film to him, and I asked him how he had approached playing (writer Saadat Hasan) Manto. He told me, 'I didn't have a visual reference. I had read about him, and I put my faith in Nandita (Das, director). I would use my acting process to see whether what she was telling me connected with my human mind and heart'. I followed that approach,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}He then credited fellow actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui for helping him understand how to approach the character of Musharraf. “When I went on YouTube, I found a lot of things interesting. But then I happened to meet Nawazuddin Siddiqui. I was actually there to narrate a film to him, and I asked him how he had approached playing (writer Saadat Hasan) Manto. He told me, 'I didn't have a visual reference. I had read about him, and I put my faith in Nandita (Das, director). I would use my acting process to see whether what she was telling me connected with my human mind and heart'. I followed that approach,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Netflix is also taking the story of the iconic fighter jet forward with The Last Salute. Directed by Kushal Srivastava, the upcoming documentary will look back at the MiG-21’s remarkable 62-year journey with the Indian Air Force. The documentary features Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh along with pilots who have flown the MiG-21 over the years. The Last Salute premiered on Netflix on August 26.
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