New Delhi: Actor Rajkumar Yadav says he volunteered to do the naked interrogation scene in 'Shahid', based on the life of slain lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi, as he wanted to feel the character's pain and humiliation.
The 29-year-old 'Kai Po Che' star said he was left emotionally drained after filming the scene and took some time to get out of his character. "I am very proud of the film... It has been made with a lot of love and honesty. It was an emotionally draining experience. There were moments where I had to push myself down into his psyche and it took me some time to get out of it. But there are few things of Shahid which I am going to carry forever, including his ideology," Rajkumar told PTI in an interview here.
On being one of the few Bollywood actor to bare it all on-screen, Rajkumar said, "That scene was never planned to be like that... It was a very normal one on paper but there was something missing. So I told Hansal that I should be absolutely naked in the interrogation scene. My reason was to feel the embarrassment, the mental pain of the character."
Rajkumar spent a lot of time with Shahid's family especially his younger brother, Khalid, to get into the skin of the character. He says the sense of responsibility while playing the role pushed him towards depicting Shahid with perfection.
"When you play a character which is fictional you can interpret it in your own way... But playing a real character comes with a lot of responsibility. In case of Shahid his family is still there, they are going to watch the film and everyone is going to judge you. So as an actor you have to put in your 100 per cent. I tried to know him as much as I could, emotionally, mentally, physically," the actor said.
Directed by Hansal Mehta, 'Shahid' is being produced by Anurag Kashyap, Sunil Bohra and Disney-UTV, which is releasing the film in theatres this Friday.
Before its India release, 'Shahid' travelled to various festivals overseas including the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and Dubai International Film Festival. Rajkumar is also thankful to the stars who turned down this role and calls it sheer luck that 'Shahid' came to him. "I believe every actor gets 4-5 movies in his lifetime which he can be really proud of and I think 'Shahid' is one of them for me. I had no apprehension, I was actually very moved.
If you see the story from an actor's perspective, it was a really great character to portray on-screen."
Rajkumar started his career with 2010 release 'Love Sex aur Dhokha' and went on to do films like 'Ragini MMS ', 'Shaitan', 'Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 2', 'Chittagong', 'Talaash' and 'Kai Po Che'. He has constantly tried to strike a balance between commercial and independent cinema, which Rajkumar says he will continue doing as he doesn't want to restrict himself as an actor.
"I am absolutely open to doing commercial cinema. I am doing 'Queen' which is a love story of sorts. I have always believed in not restricting myself. But the story should make sense to me which is why I am being very careful in choosing my projects," Rajkumar said.
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