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Osama is a Delhi boy
Pradhuman Singh, who plays Osama in Tere Bin Laden, says the getup made him feel like a celeb.
Actor Pradhuman Singh, the 27-year-old Delhi boy who plays an Osama look-alike in the recently released film Tere Bin Laden, says he felt like a celeb the first time he walked out of the vanity van in his Osama avatar .
“It was very funny. We were shooting in a studio, and the moment I stepped out of the vanity van, there was lot of noise; heads started turning and then there was pin-drop silence.
The security had to come and take me through the crowd. It was a crazy situation — so many people staring. I felt like a celeb," says the debutant.
Singh was working with a software firm when he got a call from his old buddy, Abhishek Sharma, the director of the film.
“We knew each other from our theatre days, but we hadn’t spoken in many years. So, when he called to say he wanted me to work on a film, I thought he might want me to assist him.
When we met, he said ‘I want to play you something’, and it was an Osama bin Laden tape!” Singh never thought he resembled Bin Laden, till the day people started reacting to his look.
“It was as big a shock to me as everyone else. I hadn’t told anyone about the film. My family and friends knew I was working on one, but had no idea that it had anything to do with Bin Laden.
It was only earlier this year that I asked a few close friends to see the promo of the film on YouTube. I was flooded with calls asking me, ‘Where are you in the film?’ But some people recognised me because of my smile,” he says.
The actor had to lose a lot of weight for the film, learn Arabic and watch Osama tapes. “I was 74 kgs, and now I am 63. I had to hit the gym. They didn’t want me with a paunch.
After all these promotional events, I am going to start gorging big time! Also, I learned Arabic for eight months.” Son of a naval officer, Singh studied at Naval Public School in Delhi, and then enrolled at the Institute of Hotel Management, Pusa Road.
“I didn’t like it much, so I did my graduation and was working with Wipro when offer came along. I quit my job because I couldn’t sail in two boats,” he signs off.
