Late Irrfan Khan Was The First Choice For Sardar Udham Singh

Bollywood has been chasing the trend of making patriotic films for the past few years and the latest to join the bandwagon is Sardar Udham Singh, starring Vicky Kaushal. The actor will be seen playing the role of revolutionary leader Sardar Udham Singh in the film which releases later this month.

The actor, who did a patriotic film Uri: The Surgical Strike in the past will also be seen in another patriotic biopic of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. Speaking to the media, Kaushal revealed that Sardar Udham Singh was supposed to be played by Irrfan Khan in the titular role. But he opted out of the project due to his ill health. “Nobody can fill his shoes. For me, Irrfan Saab is one of the finest actors in the world. It has been an honour that I have been considered for the same film,” Kaushal said.

The actor further said that when he first heard the story, it got connected to him in a jiff. “Even if I have attempted that genre a hundred times before, I will still jump at it as it is a story that I have got connected to. When I am doing a film, I am thinking from the perspective of the audience. I don’t fear being typecast as I am also aware that all the characters that I have done or I am doing are different.”

He further said that playing the character was not easy as Sardar udham Singh was one of the few freedom fighters who got lost in our history books as they are mentioned in just one line or a paragraph. “It is not a character that is widely documented in our history books. If you check the books you will find different stories about him. How do you then tap on to the core of that person? When I started discussing the film with the director, I understood that there was only one way to do this was to completely surrender to his vision and how we wanted to guide it,” he concluded.