You've put in a high-voltage performance as Pashupati. Did you do any homework for it?
I saw photographs of aghoras given to me by the production unit. I didn't get much reading material on them, though. I was a bit confused on whether to underplay or overplay but the director knew what he wanted. In the end it was spontaneity on the sets.
A role on reincarnation, a tormented spirit wreaking vengeance -- did you think that such a role would work in today's age of science and rationality?
Yes, I did have some hesitation. I did have this question in my mind on how to convince people with the supernatural element. All the people who worked on the script were fully charged and they had the conviction that they could do it. So I believed in that conviction and the supernatural theme connected with the audience.
How challenging was it to play the character?
It was not easy. My make-up alone took 4-5 hours and it was tedious maintaining it too. In fact it was a challenge. At times we used to shoot continuously for many hours without a wink. Physically it was tiring. And I used to have rashes on the body because of the make-up. I suffered from backache as well. All this made me think of never doing something like this again. However after seeing the success of Arundhati, I have to rethink my decision.
I did Jodhaa Akbar and Arundhati simultaneously. And both the characters were totally different. When I returned to Jaipur (for Jodhaa Akbar) after shooting for Arundhati, I would tell Ashutosh Gowarikar (director Jodhaa Akbar) and his team about playing the aghora. I think it's some supernatural force which helped me do it.
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