People are going to the cinema hall to watch content-based films: Sharad Kelkar

Bhoomi actor Sharad Kelkar on making the transition from TV to the big screen, dealing with a speech impediment and playing dark characters

Sharad Kelkar

Actor Sharad Kelkar’s famously deep baritone is hindered by the bad connectivity between our phones. Despite his tight schedule of interviews, he seems unperturbed and patiently repeats himself on my prompting. Known for having lent his voice to actor Prabhas’ characters in the Baahubali franchise for its dubbing in Hindi, Kelkar will soon be seen in the revenge saga Bhoomi .

Bhoomi marks actor Sanjay Dutt’s comeback after being released from jail, and follows the relationship between a father and daughter and how they take charge of their lives when an event threatens to upset their stability. Kelkar who plays the antagonist named Dhauli, explains how Bhoomi’s hard-hitting script encouraged him to take on the role. “It’s a social film. And it’s an eye-opener for a lot of people who don’t know what is happening in small towns”, he shares. When I ask why he considers Bhoomi an extremely important film for him, am pretty sure, he’s smiling on the other end of the phone. “The role is along with Sanjay Dutt, and I have grown up watching him,” he says.

Kelkar describes how Dhauli’s role is extremely performance-heavy, and how the character does not unfurl in shades of grey. “Dhauli is a completely dark character,” asserts the actor, “and he is the one who brings a hurricane into the father’s and daughter’s lives. The viewers are going to hate me, but if they hate me, I’ll know I’ve done a good job.”

The conversation veers towards what Kelkar perceives audiences look out for in films nowadays. He explains that while

Bhoomi is pivoted on a difficult subject and incident, its treatment as a commercial film keeps the audience in mind. The actor elaborates on how he believes people view films based on the subjects they deal with, and the manner in which they engage with those ideas. Citing Bareilly ki Barfi which subverts tropes of Bollywood love triangles, and Shubh Mangal Savdhan which quirkily deals with ideas of masculinity, Kelkar points out, “People are going to the cinema hall to watch content-based films now.”

Kelkar has portrayed negative characters a number of times before. For instance, the vicious Bhairav Singh in Telugu film Sardaar Gabbar Singh (2016), and the fuming Kanji in Ram Leela (2013). But before these endeavours, Kelkar essayed roles as the quintessential loving husband on television. “But I realised I was not growing as an actor,” says Kelkar. At this point the actor decided to take on the role of an aggressive Digvijay Thakur in Bairi Piya (2009). “I had consciously taken a decision to not repeat myself and to give audiences some variety” he asserts.

While the role garnered him positive reviews, Kelkar reminisces about the long journey that had led up to then. Born in Gwalior, Kelkar got modelling offers on a visit to Mumbai when he was younger. Since he would earn significantly more than what he was as a gym instructor in Gwalior, Kelkar made use of the opportunities and even became a Grasim Mr. India finalist in 2002. After completing a MBA in Marketing, Kelkar returned to the city and landed parts in television commercials. Soon Kelkar found roles in television serials, but he says “Within five days I got replaced.” The actor had a stammer that hindered his performance and explains that “On the fifth day I had a major scene and had to deliver my lines very flamboyantly. But I was stuck.”

The actor shares that he soldiered through that struggle, and while it has largely ceased to be a hindrance, he admits that even now he occasionally stammers when he gets angry. “But you simply have to keep working on it,” says the actor.

In a rather surprising stroke of kismet, Kelkar went on to dub for numerous protagonists’ roles into Hindi from Max Rockatansky in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) to Xander Cage in xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017). Asked if he wants to shift to doing the “good guy” roles now, he replies, “As an actor, there isn’t a type of role I want to do. I don’t mind negative or even comic roles. But the role should have some weightage.”

Before concluding, the actor shares that he will be seen in an upcoming Marathi film. “It is an eco thriller called Rakshas . You will see a different side of me,” he promises.