Exclusive| Sharad Kelkar on Shivaji Jayanti: Matter of pride to have played Chhatrapati Shivaji on screen in Tanhaji
Actor Sharad Kelkar on playing Chhatrapati Shivaji, in his most successful film, Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (2020), on the occasion of Shivaji Jayanti today.
Sharad Kelkar has played a plethora of roles on screen... but none gave him as much a sense of achievement as playing former Indian ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He stepped into the shoes for one of the biggest hits of his career, Tanhaji: the Unsung Warrior, in 2020.
As we take the actor to shoot for us exclusively, the first thing he does as we begin rolling is removing his slippers, as a mark of respect. The entire shoot happens barefoot, “It’s a matter of pride for all of us, not just Maharashtrians. He established Hindu Swaraj in India. he’s a pioneer.”
Talking about the bond with Shivaji deepening after the film, Kelkar adds that he was ‘surprised’ when he was offered the same.
“I had never met or spoken to Om Raut, the director before. I was out of the country when he called and said he wants to meet me. He then said he wants me to play Shivaji, and I took two minutes before asking ‘why me?’ He said he wants his king to look like this, have a personality like mine. We did a look test, and when I came to the office in that attire, everybody went quiet. Then I realised they were looking at me. That gave me a lot of confidence. For a Maharashtrian, Marathi actor, this role is once in a lifetime. It’s the biggest achievement,” shares the actor as we wrap up the shoot.
He still remembers how people after Tanhaji only had two things to say to him- about the film, and his role, “People 100 out of 100 times mentioned this film and my role in the conversations. It was a matter of pride.”
Growing up though, he didn’t get to play the role of Shivaji in any competition. His learning ground was the set of the film itself. However, he did capitalise on the adulation. “I am born and brought up in Madhya Pradesh, so I would always see a very small story on Shivaji Maharaj in our textbooks. I requested the Chief Minister of MP then to put a chapter or prescribe separate books in schools, so people would get to know about him more,” he beams.
