Arjun Kapoor Reveals Behind-the-Scenes Secrets of Panipat, Talks about Film’s Comparison with Bajirao Mastani
Bollywood Actor Arjun Kapoor and Actress Kriti Sanon have been quite busy these days with the promotions for their upcoming period drama film Panipat and they are leaving no stone unturned to grab all the attention for the audience. The recently released much-awaited trailer has surely been successful in creating a lot of buzz amongst the cine goers.
The story of the film revolves around the third battle of Panipat. Arjun Kapoor plays the role of Sadashiv Rao, while Kriti Sanon will be seen portraying the character of Parvati bai.
We met Arjun Kapoor during their recently promotional activity in the city and had a chat about the film. Check out some insights that he shared during the interaction.
Q: Tell us something about your look in the film?
Arjun: For the look test, I tried out the bald patches initially to see if the look suits my character. Later on, I shaved my hair off on 16th November last year. Though we started shooting in January 2019. Hence, I used to wear caps on, which you get to seen in various photos of mine. It was just to hide the ‘Shendi’ that would have looked weird without context. So overall, the makeover done for the character was all real, including the moustache.
Q: Your character in film, Sadashiv Rao was being trolled, how would you react to those memes?
Arjun: Everybody gets trolled. But the fact is that you make fun of me, I am here today, and maybe I won't be tomorrow. But if you are making fun of this film, you are making fun of people who have sacrificed themselves for India. I don't see anyone making fun of Shaheed Bhagat Singh; I have never seen a meme on Subhas Chandra Bose. But I am seeing memes on Sadashivrao Bhau and nobody says anything about it. Sadashivrao was a valiant soldier and martyr. Nobody has stood up and said this (memes) is uncouth and rude. I feel it is sad that we are allowing it to happen. I will crack jokes on myself. I don't have any issues. If you crack jokes on me, I am used to it. I have laughed at many of these in this past. The sad part is the character, the film, which is being made fun of, which is unfair.
Q: What you want to say about Panipat's comparison with Bajirao Mastani?
Arjun: Decades ago various events took place, which has been marked as historic. If historic events start getting compared, then in that case Tanhaji should have also not been made. Similarly, after MSDhoni what is the need of making another movie about cricketer Yuvraj Singh? Even after URI, what is the need of coming up with more war films, but there are so many plots based on historical or true events that are being made. These are stories which need to be spoken about.
In our film, Sadashivrao Bhau is the next generation of Peshwa Bajirao. He was the son of Chimaji Appa, the brother of Bajirao. So, the comparison might be because of the similarities in their clothing, appearance, houses, etc.
Q: What was Ranveer Singh’s reaction after seeing the trailer? What tips did you get from him for Panipat?
Arjun: He (Ranveer) got very excited after seeing the trailer and I am happy about that. We are friends, apart from being actors. We don't constantly discuss acting and character developments. We do films of the same genres as actors but eventually, the stories of these films are different. We have always interacted at a friendly level and have never gone into deep discussions.
While I was busy shooting for Panipat, Ranveer was occupied with ’83. He would share pictures from '83 and I would share something from my shoot, and we would talk about it. But we never discussed beyond a point. If I ask him ‘Tu hota to ye scene kaise karta' (If you would have been doing this scene, then how would you execute.), then I might corrupt my thinking.
Q: What were your preparations for playing a warrior who lived centuries ago? What did you have to unlearn for this role?
Arjun: I have seen so many periodic films as a child. We have all seen them. We all get consumed by a certain behavioural pattern that comes with a period film. But eventually, they were human beings. They were warriors, but they were humans. The way you behave with me during an interview is different from how you behave with a colleague. I wanted to be as casual as possible when it comes to talking to my wife-to-be in the film, or when it comes to speaking to my friends in the film or when it comes to encourage the entire army. There have to be some subtle differences; otherwise we all get caught up in being too uptight in every scene.
Q: Did director Ashutosh Gowarikar advice or guide you while Panipat?
Arjun: Yes. Ashu sir once said that ‘Be human. Be vulnerable.’ Any person who is a leader of 50,000 to 70,000 people will have vulnerability because he will fear as to whether he is doing the right thing. He won’t show it to them, but nothing will be hidden form his wife.
Q: How taxing were the action sequences?
Arjun: You should ask this to the stuntmen who have worked with us because it is very taxing for them. We used to get a chance to sit in the vanity van in AC, but there are hundreds of men involved who don’t get these facilities.
But when it comes to the costume, yes it was tough because of the weather. Also, I could not sit while in the costume since there was metal all over it. I needed 4 people helping me wear and remove the costume, so I would prefer keeping it on unless the shoot was over for the day. Even the horse-riding part with the armour was also very difficult.
Panipat is directed by Ashutosh Gowariker and is based on the third battle of Panipat, which took place on January 14, 1761. The battle was fought between the northern expeditionary force of the Maratha Empire that invaded the forces of the King of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Abdali, supported by two Indian allies—the Rohilla Afghans of the Doab, and Shuja-ud-Daula, the Nawab of Awadh.
Apart from Arjun Kapoor and Kriti Sanon, the film also features Sanjay Dutt as Ahmad Shah Abdali and Zeenat Aman as Sakina Begum, Mohnish Bahl, Padmini Kolhapure in pivotal roles. The film is scheduled to hit the theatres on December 6.
