Despite a promising start as a medium pacer, first a long run up and later a tumour compelled Salil Ankola to bid adieu to cricket when it was his life’s most important aspect. Yet Salil, who made his debut alongside Sachin Tendulkar in the 1989 series against Pakistan, did not lose hope and worked towards his career as an actor .
Over the years, he has shown that his acting talent is better than other sportspersons who have made such transitions. Now, the 48 year-old, who impressed the television audience with Asha Parekh’s Kora Kagaz , is all set to dazzle the small screen with his character of Surya in Karmphal Data Shani which premières on Colors channel on November 7.
The serial has mythical heroes who have been created to appeal to today’s generation. “The serial is in the genre of Bahubali . It hasspecial affects. It is my first costume drama. This serial matches my taste. I love doing new genres . Here the challenge is wearing heavy costume – an armour weighing 24 kg, mukut of five kg and then holding 30 kg of weaponry. Twenty minutes are spent on wearing the entire outfit. I feel sweaty, hot and heavy. Even if I am tired, I cannot show it on the sets. And I have to utter dialogues in a convincing way,” says Salil, in a slow drawl.
The serial is on the life of Shani. Would it not have been proper to play the protagonist? “When I read the script I decided to play Suryadeva as the character is important. He is the lord of wisdom, knowledge and is a giver of life. He is a guy who is very proud because everything in the universe exist because of him. The serial showcases his relationship with Shani, who wonders why he is not good looking like Surya. The most important trait that I share with Surya is that both of us are big. Even I am a strong powerful person. He is egoistic, while I have lot of self respect. Surya is proud and I don’t think I share this trait with him. A couple of characters of Surya gel well with my character, while others do not.”
The serial is said to be projecting Shani Deva in a positive way. “People have a number of misconceptions about Shani Deva. They always assume that Shani is an angry God. They get scared as they think kuch bhi hoga to Shani ka dashak chal jaye ga. I am a bhakt of Shani; the whole story about his life is very absorbing. Fortunately, I have come to know interesting details about him like when Shani was formed, who made him and why his creation came into being. And this helped me inunderstanding deeper apsects of his life.”
Talking about the preparation, Salil says, “Two months before the shoot I started doing script reading to understand each and every character. I also had to improve my diction in Hindi. The serial is in chaste Hindi interspersed with Sanskrit words. So I have to pronounce sentences in a manner that the audience understands the meaning. I worked on voice modulation.”
Salil says the role is physically demanding. “Last year, I had a bigger built and developed a body builder’s physique. I am doing weight training even during shoots and never miss my workout routine. As normal diet cannot give me 250 grams of protein, I have to take recourse to supplements to maintain my body.”
Salil’s life came crashing down when he diagnosed with bone tumour. But he has no regrets in life. “I was told that I could not play for three years. Had I not been afflicted with tumour, I would have continued playing the game. Since then I have not looked back even though I still play cricket for charity events. For me it was important to make the switch. When I got television offers, I did full justice to them. Rather than learning in an acting institute, I learnt acting on the job. I have been acting for 16 years. Every serial of mine runs for at least two to three years. I believe in living today and not worry about tomorrow. I don’t look back at cricket and do not think I am coach material. .”
Describing himself as a fighter, Salil says he managed to get a new lease of life on the small screen due to his ability to adapt. He empathises with Yuvraj SIngh, who fought cancer. “Both of us are strong characters. A saying goes that for a boxer a fight is not over even if he is knocked out. Only when he cannot get up does he loses. In my case, I was able to get up.”
Recalling his debut series, where he faced fearsome fast bowling of Imran Khan and Wasim Akram, Salil says, “We were arch rivals on the field but off the field all of us were friends. The crowd would root for them in every match but once outside the stadium the public was friendly towards us.”
