Having played Lord Hanuman five times in his 8-year-old acting career, wrestler-turned-actor Danish Akhtar Saifi says he has a special connection with the deity as he gears up to replicate his performance in the ongoing Ramlila.
“It started with Siya Ke Ram (2015) and since then it has been Santoshi Maa (2016), Jai Maa Vaishno Devi (2019), Shrimad Bhagwat Mahapuran (2020) and in an upcoming mythological film I have played the deity,” says the actor.
Saifi says that 16 times he has been offered the role of Lord Hanuman.
“I have a special connection and liking for the role and a lot of respect towards the Hanumanji. That’s the reason I keep taking up the same. After TV and film, I want to try Ramlila and that’s the reason for the first time I am performing at Derawali Nagar Ramlila in New Delhi.” He has played the role of Bhima thrice – in a film, a TV show Shri Krishna (2017) and in the play Mahabharata.
On his journey, the actor from Siwan (Bihar), says, “I was training under (actor-wrestler Dalip Singh Rana) The Great Khali in 2013 as I wanted to do WWE but due to some paperwork it could not happen. In Mumbai, I gave an audition and in the same period, the channel and makers were looking for an actor for the role of Hanumanji. They liked my personality and height (6.6 feet) and got me trained under the National School of Drama teacher Rajesh Tiwari and my journey started.”
{{/usCountry}}On his journey, the actor from Siwan (Bihar), says, “I was training under (actor-wrestler Dalip Singh Rana) The Great Khali in 2013 as I wanted to do WWE but due to some paperwork it could not happen. In Mumbai, I gave an audition and in the same period, the channel and makers were looking for an actor for the role of Hanumanji. They liked my personality and height (6.6 feet) and got me trained under the National School of Drama teacher Rajesh Tiwari and my journey started.”
{{/usCountry}}How one thing led to another, he says, “During the Siya... shoot in Hyderabad, I was working out at a gym where the Kannada makers were looking for an actor for Bhima for Kurukshetra (2019) and I got the role. Sonu (Sood) bhai played Arjun in the film, and he promised to work with me and that’s how I got the upcoming film Fateh. I have also done two Kannada films Kotigobba 3 (2021) and Kabzaa (2022) both with Kiccha Sudeepa. Besides, in Vikram Vedha (2021), I played the Marathi gang leader and I shot with Hrithik (Roshan) in Abu Dhabi and with Saif (Ali Khan) in Lucknow.”
He is putting a lot of effort into reducing his body weight. “People come to me with a perception and most want me to flaunt my body. The casting people mostly ask me for bare-body auditions, but my focus is on acting – as it’s like Sone Pe Suhaga! That’s the reason I have reduced myself to 105 kgs from 140 kgs so other roles also come to me,” he says on a signing-off note.