When Terror Strikes
Rajkummar Rao exceeds the audience’s expectations with every film that he does, whether commercial cinema or out-of-the-box, content-driven films. Continuing this journey, the actor talks to Team Box Office India about his latest film ‘Omerta’
29 April 2018 1:15 AM IST
You have played characters based on real people before, in Shahid and in the web-series Bose: Dead/Alive. In Omerta too, your role is based on the life of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh. Do you find it easy or tough to play someone real as against playing a fictional character?
Every character comes with its own challenges. But, yes, when you are playing a real-life character on screen, the responsibility is much bigger. It was especially so in the case of Shahid and Subhash Chandra Bose, where the people, the audience, are familiar with these characters. In such cases, the audience will judge you on their perception of the real-life people.
But, in the case of Omerta, I don't think many people know who Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh is, especially in our country. We don't even know what he looks like. I too had no idea about him, his life, his upbringing and his struggles. So, I had to start from the beginning, portray this character from scratch, and give him my own voice. My main focus throughout the prepping and making was to get the psyche right. I wanted to catch the mental state that he was in. There were reasons that were driving him to do violent things in the world and I wanted to know what they were. You cannot be sane and do all these things. Hence I had to figure out that part of the character to get it right.
There are so many actors who say they need to find some connection with their characters. Isn't it difficult to do that when you are playing the role of a protagonist who is a terrorist?
(Laughs) It is not at all possible to relate to such a character. There is no way I could relate to Omar Saeed Sheikh on any level. I am a completely different guy in my personal life than he is. I am young, peaceful, a city boy who is secular and decent. And then there is this ruthless, deadly terrorist who plays a huge part in taking innocent lives.
But, he is a very smart guy. He was very sharp and intelligent when he was younger while studying at the London School of Economics. Then, somewhere between 1993 and 1994, something happened, something changed inside him, and he started seeing things differently. There are people waiting for such vulnerable boys. These people brainwash the boys and make them do things they otherwise wouldn't. Things that are very inhuman.
And what about the audience's connect to the central character? How does that come into the picture? They will not relate to a ruthless protagonist.
I think the audience will see a story that they have not been told before. And it has been told very uniquely by Hansal sir (Mehta). We have always seen films with villains in them but never a film which is only about a villain. Imagine if there was a film only about Gabbar and there was no Jai, Veeru or Thakur in it. It is different but definitely fascinating.
This is purely a story of this antagonist, of this experience. Plus, it is true. It is based on real incidents. It is still happening all around us. Terrorism is one of the biggest problems that we are facing in the world today. And, to date, there are young boys like Omar Sheikh who are intelligent, who could be useful to society, can probably help bring about a change in society for the better but they are getting brainwashed.
These things are happening on WhatsApp groups now and then these boys go out and join organisations which teach them about violence. Hence, this film is socially very relevant. It is the story of this one villain. People who have seen the film claim it is Hansal sir's best film till date. They think that it is also my best performance till date. I am very happy with these compliments.
You use the word vulnerable in the description of your character. Often, in films with sensitive central themes, the central characters, even if negative, are justified and/or glorified.
Of course, that is not the case in Omerta. That is the difference between Hansal (Mehta) sir and someone else. This is where his unique style comes into play. He keeps everything very real. He will show you the way things are and won't use any gimmicks. That is exactly what Omerta is. It is very real, it is true to its nature and we are not commenting on anything as such but just portraying things as they are. It is the audience that needs to decide what they want to feel for the people and the characters that they see on the screen.
You have done many well-received films with Hansal Mehta in the past. But when he offered this unapologetic negative character to you, were there any second thoughts about taking it up?
Not at all. Actually, to tell you the truth, I was very happy that he offered this particular part to me. As an actor, there is always some fascination you have towards dark characters. We can see it in the past that a superstar like Shah Rukh (Khan) sir started his career with roles in films like Baazigar or Darr where he played the villain. Even Aamir (Khan) sir played a negative role in Earth 1947 and so did Irrfan Khan in so many of his movies like Haasil. Now, we have Ranveer (Singh) who has played a villain in Padmaavat. So, this means there has always been a fascination for roles like this.
I was also interested in the kind of guy Omar Saaed Sheikh is. I have never played a role like this in my career. He is somebody who is so ruthless, so purely villainous, you cannot even say that he is a grey character. He is all black. That is interesting to me and that is why I wanted to explore this genre as an actor.
Films based on subjects like these, especially terrorism, have faced a backlash from the Central Board of Film Certification before. Do you think it is better today? And why so?
I definitely think it is better now that the audience is more accepting. Our audience here has evolved in the last few years and one of the reasons is streaming channels, OTT platforms and VODs coming in. The audience has access to a lot of international stuff right now. They know that these are the kind of films which are being made outside, these are the kind of series that are made outside India. They want and expect some kind of quality work from us as well.
This is why, last year, movies like Newton, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Lipstick Under My Burkha and Shubh Mangal Saavdhan became such huge box office successes. The change only came about because our audience agreed to give their precious time and money to these films.
What is the significance of the title?
There is a story behind this unique title. When Hansal sir was planning this film with another producer, they were not ready to talk about this film to anyone. So, they used to say that this is basically our 'omerta', which means 'code of silence between people'. In the gangster world, it means that you don't support the authorities or you don't cooperate with them. Otherwise, this can be between us, between anybody, where we are not sharing something with anybody else. It means maintaining a code of silence.
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