Punjabi poet-songwriter, Sufi singer, 35-year-old Satinder Sartaaj is now also a movie star. Sartaaj who plays the titular role in The Black Prince that released last week, plays the last raja of Punjab, Duleep. A natural performer, Sartaaj felt drawn to the character as soon as he was narrated the tragic tale of Maharajah Ranjit Singh and Maharani Jindan’s son.
A passionate believer in Punjabi culture, Sartaaj says, “It’s a Hollywood movie about Sikh history. It’s an honour for me to play the protagonist.” Sartaaj, whose first major hit was ‘Sai’ in 2010, has performed across the globe making his mark as a Sufi singer. Now, he plans on doing so with his acting career as well.
“I was destined to play the role of Maharajah Duleep Singh in The Black Prince ,” says Sartaaj who is making his debut with Shabana Azmi playing his mother in the period drama directed by Kavi Raz. This poignant historical is based on the true story of Maharajah Duleep Singh, the last King of Punjab.
Duleep Singh’s tragic life was the subject of a BBC documentary, Britain’s Maharajah made by Sian Salt, which focused on his identity crisis and the battle for his homeland. Earlier this year, The Black Prince , the first feature film on the subject, was the opening for the London Indian Film Festival.
“The story of the rebel king, who lived in Elveden [in England] enthrals anyone who cares to listen,” says the singer against the backdrop of a picturesque sunset setting at a city suburban hotel. At the age of 10, the heir of Punjab was forced to surrender his sovereignty to Britain and amidst great political turmoil, was dispatched to England at the age of 15, his own future in suspension. Despite being converted to Christianity, Duleep Singh was asked to wear full Indian royal regalia while being paraded at Queen Victoria’s parties, as he was viewed as an exotic accessory by India’s former colonial rulers. “The reality was much darker than his bejewelled appearance,” says Sartaaj.
While past historical accounts have been unkinder to Duleep Singh, the film takes a more empathetic approach to his life – highlighting his attempts to help the Indian independence movement with plans to attack the colonisers from foreign help. According to Sartaaj, the film’s research team unearthed long buried facts. He strongly believes that Duleep Singh’s story will shatter many myths around him part of the common folklore around him. “Duleep Singh, though fond of the Suffolk estate where he lived, struggled to regain his kingdom and free India with Russian and Irish Fenian help,” says Sartaaj.
A largely unsung hero, Duleep Singh was torn between two worlds and didn’t have much of a royal life. “When the offer came to me, my historian friend actually asked me to rethink [it] as [Duleep Singh was a] controversial character.” Till recently, the Sikh community has not regarded Duleep Singh as a hero primarily owing to his conversion to Christianity. “He died a Sikh contrary to what is believed and was never given his due honour by his community,” muses Sartaaj who believes that with The Black Prince , history will be rewritten.
Sartaaj is suitably impressed by the film’s veracity, he says, “Other biopics have a lot of fiction involved. In Bollywood, there is an element of masala added to appeal to the people.” The Black Prince , being a Hollywood production made sure that all its facts were in place, “Not a single scene is fictitious,” emphasises Sartaaj. “There is a lot to learn from it also including the dangers of imperialism,” says Sartaaj who believes it will take the Indian film diaspora to greater heights.
The newbie actor also shares how overwhelming it was to work with actors like Jason Flemyng, known for his roles in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and X-Men: First Class . Watching seasoned actors like Flemyng made him nervous, “My training at the [Kishore Namit Kapoor Acting Institute] is what helped me prepare for the role,” says the actor who wasn’t allowed to see the monitor after his shot. “I must have seen it only twice during the entire shoot,” he shares.
For Sartaaj the most influential person on the film was Shabana Azmi. “She became my mentor and our role of mother-son became quite real. She advised me to trust the director aka Raz Sir,” adds Sartaaj. The movie also dubbed in Hindi and Punjabi has five compositions by Sartaaj which serve as perfect backdrops for the scenes. “The main motive [for the film] is not music but the story,” says the Punjabi folk singer.
