Rani Mukerji brought on screen a new brand of female cops as ACP Shivani Shivaji Roy in Mardaani 10 years ago, who fought a menacing yet charming villain Karan Rastogi aka Walt, played by actor Tahir Raj Bhasin. The film also marked late Pradeep Sarkar’s second last directorial before his passing in 2023. As the film clocks in a decade, here’s remembering with Tahir some uncovered stories from the past and what still makes the film so fresh and exciting for the audiences.
The charming anti-hero chosen from 500 people
Mardaani marked Tahir's film debut and he reveals that he was chosen from a pool of 500 people. “Initially, I didn’t even know who the leading actress was as it was being kept so secretive. My final audition was taken by Pradeep Sarkar, writer Gopi Puthran and casting director Shanoo Sharma. There was complete silence for almost three weeks after that, and then I finally got the call. It was so emotional and surreal,” he recalls.
Talking about the charm of Karan, the actor shares, “They made the antagonist an anti-hero, who wasn’t repulsive in the way he looks or speak. On the contrary, he was charming. Pradeep sir just told me to make the role my own and not to play it as an antagonist. There were projects like House Of Cards and True Detective happening internationally at that time, so my part was so in vogue.” He also revealed that a lot of the clothes that he wore in the film were his own: “Pradeep Sarkar asked me during costume trials what is cool according to me. I told him it was what I was wearing then. He said fine, so during a lot of scenes in the film, I wore my own clothes.”
Delhi feast for the cast and crew
Tahir shot for his part in Delhi and a majority of the film’s shoot took place there. Remembering the days, what strikes him the most is Delhi food: “All of our shoot locations were close to eating hotspots, be it Jama Masjid, where the biryani was very famous, or the old Dak Khan where the chole bhature are so popular. It was a Delhi feast for the cast and crew. They say if you feed an army well, they perform their best, so some credit of Mardaani goes to the Delhi food as well.”
{{/usCountry}}Tahir shot for his part in Delhi and a majority of the film’s shoot took place there. Remembering the days, what strikes him the most is Delhi food: “All of our shoot locations were close to eating hotspots, be it Jama Masjid, where the biryani was very famous, or the old Dak Khan where the chole bhature are so popular. It was a Delhi feast for the cast and crew. They say if you feed an army well, they perform their best, so some credit of Mardaani goes to the Delhi food as well.”
{{/usCountry}}He also revealed that while he hails from Delhi, he never told his friends and family about the film while the shoot was going on. “I never mentioned to my friends and family that I was shooting in Delhi. I called them after completing the shoot and coming back to Mumbai,” he shares.
A-rated territory
Mardaani became Yash Raj Films' first A-rated film and it was an uncharted territory for them at the time. But for Tahir, the film was actually something new and edgy for the production house. “What added an edge to Mardaani was the coolness of the world that was created. It was unusual in the way it was lit, how real the costumes were, and how gritty it was, especially considering Yash Raj was producing it. It was a break from tradition for the kind of cinema they were making.”
Three weeks Krav Maga training for the climax
The climax of Mardaani featured an intense fight between Tahir and Rani, and the former reveals taking a three-week training in Krav Maga for the same. “We were choreographed in a way that we wouldn’t need to hit. There were three weeks of extensive workshops for Krav Maga, hand-to-hand combat. It was always at the back of my mind that I better get it right. But what was encouraging was Rani Mukerji herself, who told me to focus on the action and the scene and forget everyone else. It was reassuring to know there was support from that end,” he says.