Adivi sesh biography of mahatma gandhi

By Subhash K. Jha

Mumbai, March 1 (IANS): Actor Adivi Sesh, who will be seen as Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, the NSG commando who lost his life while rescuing many hostages during the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai, acknowledges the importance of not promoting jingoism through cinema.

Excerpts from an interview in which the actor talks about the process of playing a soldier so heroic:

Q. Congratulations, Adivi. How did this dream role come your way?

A. Yes, dream role is right. You'll find this hard to believe. But I lived with the dream of playing Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan for eleven years. Even when I was living in San Francisco, I was completely taken up by his grit. I felt he was my brother. That's how close I feel to him.

Q. So playing him on-screen is just a logical culmination of your dream?

A. You could say that. When Mahesh Babu, who is a co-producer on this project and his wife Namrata Shirodkar approached me with this offer, it felt unreal. How could I be offered a chance to play a character that I have lived with for so many years?

Q. Of late, films on the theme of national heroes and patriotism have almost become a formula. Isn't that a dangerous development?

A. Cinema is a reflection of society at large. I am a proud Indian and happy to see a surge of patriotism in our country. Movies on true national heroes is most welcome for the actor as much as the audience. The important thing is to stay on the right side of the line dividing patriotism from jingoism.

Q. So many biopics, many of them about army heroes, are being made. Does playing a real-life character mean an added responsibility for the actor?

A. Of course. It does for me. I can't speak for others. This is the first time I'm playing a real-life character, and that too one someone who is taught as a subject in numerous textbooks in Karnataka, Andhra and Telangana. It is a responsibility and one that I am taking very seriously. I am writing the film myself.

Q. Why are

One of Telugu cinema’s leading actors Adivi Sesh has constantly been striving to break the glass ceiling. His association, and not just as an actor, with game-changing Telugu films like Kshanam, Goodachari and even Baahubali, has given this new-age actor a fillip into pan-India fame.

In his next, Sesh is going to play Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, the NSG commando who rescued hostages during the 26/11 terror attack on the Taj hotel in Mumbai and perished in his valorous mission. Sesh talks about the process of playing a soldier so heroic.

How did this dream role come your way?
Yes, dream role sounds like the right way to describe it. You may find this hard to believe, but I had been dreaming of playing Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan for 11 years. Even through my stay in San Francisco, I was completely taken up by his grit. I felt like he was my brother.

So playing him on screen is just a logical culmination of your dream?
You could say that. When Mahesh Babu, who is a co-producer on this project, and his wife, Namrata Shirodkar, approached me with this offer it felt unreal. How could I be offered a chance to play a character that I have only dreamt of playing for so many years?

Do you feel a special affiliation to Major Unnikrishnan because he is a South Indian like you?
Well, I can’t deny that it does heighten the sense of kinship. But I’d be just as happy and comfortable playing a war hero from Punjab. I think playing a hero of this stature goes beyond cultural boundaries. After all, even Ben Kingsley did not have to be Gujarati to play Mahatma Gandhi.

How much research is being done forthe film and your character?
I have been interacting with Unnikrishnan’s parents for quite some time now. I am very close to uncle and aunty, but I prefer to avoid dwelling on my relationship with them as it might seem like an attempt to attract attention to our film.