Very rarely do ‘character actors' get a meaty role and when get it, they go all out to excel and sometimes overtake the lead character in the film. Murali Sharma as Ghani Bhai in Dhoni has one such role that is off beat and lively.
The actor from Guntur who is settled in Mumbai concurs that the prized role has given him immense satisfaction, “The character creates energy, and there is one emotional scene that is my all-time favourite. I confront Prakash Raj when he looks at me in a hapless manner unable to return the money when his son is in coma. It was a ‘reformation episode' wherein I tell him that he should ask only me if he ever needs any money.” The fair, tall and menacing-looking Murali Sharma is a very gentle and a soft-spoken man who doesn't mingle with everyone. “I'm an introvert. I like the atmosphere on the sets here and I bond with like-minded people. We all call each other annayya .
Murali is currently doing a movie with art director Nitin Chandrakant Desai who is considered one of the most popular set designers in the country. He is directing a film on Ajanta Ellora, a period drama. The actor elaborates, “It is an untold love story of an Aadivasi girl and a British soldier and I play the Mukhia of the village. I am a villain again. I'm a baddie in Mr Nokia too wherein my name is Shahjahan. I feel so bad when I'm dubbing for such roles, the character is so bad that nothing matters for him except money. He will kill or rape anyone, has absolutely no emotions. I have played a villain more than 35 times so far but I strive to give that extra something, entertaining, exciting and different.”
Murali avers that Mr Nokia is a screenplay-based film in which he is constantly singing songs; one of them is DK Bose . He is doing Adhinayakudu with Balakrishna, another with Rajashekar and Venu and says that because he is choosy the appearances in Telugu are very rare. “I do a lot of Hindi films but try to strike a balance. I've an emotional bonding with Guntur, my mother has a home there but I have always lived in Mumbai, started my career there and am known as a Hindi movie actor. I've been in the industry for almost 18 or 19 years...it has taken me so long to get wherever I am but the journey has been pleasant. There have been hardships, I've learnt from them and keep motivating myself.
On his wife Ashwini Kalsekar who has a terrific screen presence and made her debut in Rakta Charitra , Murali says, “Both of us have done mostly negative roles and we both enjoy and love our work. We don't carry our work home. God gives us what we deserve, each one of us is unique and so we shouldn't think too much about life.”
Before signing off he thanks his Prakash annayya , whom he fondly calls Mogambo for giving him a wonderful role in Dhoni
