Ashutosh Gowariker's upcoming period war drama Panipat has managed to garner the right amount of attention ever since it was announced. With the trailer being released a while ago, the anticipation among fans surely shot up high and has made the wait for it to release difficult. With Panipat inching closer to its silver screen opening, the lead cast has been navigating across the city to promote the film well. During one such promotional interview with a leading daily, Arjun, who plays the role of a brave Maratha warrior, told about the struggle and effort that went behind getting into the skin of the character of Sadashiv Rao Bhau. Revealing that he had to wear an armour weighing 18-20 kgs for an action sequence, Arjun went on to add that four people had to assist him for the same after which he rode a horse. From learning horse riding to sword fighting and much more, the effort was indeed fruitful for the actor.
"The armour I wore in the action sequences weighed around 18-20 kgs. It took four people to help me wear it and I had to ride a horse wearing that. In the film, I actually rode a horse and I was trained by professionals for two months at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse. I even learnt sword fighting. My expertise in the film is sphere throwing, so I learnt javelin throw for it. I used to wake up at 5.30 in the morning and ride a horse at Mahalaxmi Racecourse at 6 am. That was the most beautiful time in my life. I have never felt so calm with an animal before to the extent that I could connect and be comfortable with them. I started enjoying horse riding and we have used that extensively in the film," Arjun told.
Talking about the comparisons drawn between Panipat and Bajirao Mastani, including character looks, Arjun said Ranveer and he share a great rapport and the latter was indeed happy for the former. "Ranveer playing Bajirao had no bearing on Ashu sir casting me for this film. In fact, after seeing the trailer, Ranveer sent me a voice note saying, ‘Sadashivrao bhauuuuuu’ (imitates Ranveer). He came and jumped on me the other day when I was dubbing; that’s our camaraderie as friends. We are happy for each other. We don’t compare ke isney yeh kiya toh main woh karunga. It’s not like if I have played a student in 2 States (2014), he can’t do that later. That’s our choice. We had a biopic on Dhoni. Now, if we want to make a film on Yuvraj Singh, it will be set in the same time period, right? Dono ki story alag hai, but Yuvraj bhi ussi samay cricket khel raha tha. We can’t do anything about it. If the cast of Yuvraj’s film is dressed in the same way, you can’t say woh Dhoni ke picture ko copy kar rahe hai," Arjun added.
Directed by Ashutosh, Panipat is produced by Sunita Gowariker under their home banner AGPPL in association with Rohit Shelatkar's company – Vision World. The film stars Arjun as Sadashiv Rao while Kriti is his wife Parvatibai. Sanjay Dutt is the menacing Ahmad Shah Abdali. Apart from them, it features Padmini Kolhapure, Mohnish Bahl and Zeenat Aman in special roles. Panipat is scheduled to release on December 6, 2019.
(Source: Bombay Times)
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