Rajneeti actors - Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Manoj Bajpai and Arjun Rampal|Rajneeti Hindi Movie

Rajneeti actors - Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Manoj Bajpai and Arjun Rampal|Rajneeti Hindi Movie

Role play

Taskmaster Prakash Jha is making Arjun Rampal go through the grind for his role of a politician in Rajneeti

By Parag Maniar

Prakash Jha

When Arjun Rampal signed for Prakash Jha’s Rajneeti, little did he know what lay ahead of him. To extract the best performance out of Arjun, Prakash has not just instructed Arjun to live, breathe and dream his character but also ensures that Arjun does it. As a result, the experience for Arjun is not a very happy one.

Prakash is a strict disciplinarian and maintains a no-nonsense attitude. He has also made his Rajneeti actors - Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Manoj Bajpai and Arjun Rampal, undergo an acting workshop before starting the film.

But he seems to be going the extra mile with Arjun. Not content with making Arjun chop his long locks, Prakash is making Arjun hang around the sets even when he is not required.

A source close to the production unit that is currently shooting in Bhopal, said, “Since it is for the first time that Arjun is playing a role of such a high calibre, Prakash has seen to it that Arjun gives that something extra that he hasn’t given in his earlier films.

Arjun Rampal

This is also for the first time that Arjun is doing a film of a serious nature, so Arjun who is not used to such a style of filmmaking is completely drained.”

Interestingly, Prakash also gave Arjun some gyaan on his earlier films, where the model-turned actor played glamorous roles. The source added, “Prakash felt that Arjun’s earlier films were not serious as they concentrated more on the glamour aspect rather than performance.

But since Rajneeti belongs to a non-glamorous and realistic genre, he insisted on a need to stay focussed to the character, even off the sets. Though the experience of working with Prakash has sapped Arjun of all his energy, it has been quite a learning experience for him.”

We checked with Arjun Rampal on the rigours he’s undergoing but he said diplomatically, “Prakash Jha has been very clear about what he wants and does not want. At the same time, he has been very understanding. He is also a pretty chilled out director. I am having a blast working with him.”