04 April,2010 01:04 AM IST | | Ayesha Nair
After close to two years of being on the backburner, Pankh released this Friday with yet another hopeful entering Bollywood. What makes Pankh's lead actor Maradona Rebello stand out of the clutter?
You'll know him instantly from a toothpaste commercial. Like his name, there's nothing conventional about 23 year-old Maradona Rebello who makes his debut with Sudipto Chattopadhyaya's Pankh. Maradona digs deep to find his twisted side to play Jerry Dacunha, a troubled 21 year-old, who as a child took on female roles in films.
As an adult, Jerry re-enters the film industry on the behest of his mother. An identity crisis ensues and Jerry resorts to drug abuse. Bipasha Basu appears as his alter ego, and is the only thing keeping him company.
This might not be the kind of film someone aiming to be a hero would like to debut with, but Maradona is not your usual hero material. He first felt the irresistible lure of the performing arts when he stepped on stage a few years ago, essaying a role in the theatre production An Evening with Shakespeare and Actors by Raj Jagdishan.
Later, he auditioned for Pankh and beat 250 aspirants to land the role.
Maradona got cold feet when he heard that the script demanded nudity and kissing a male co-star. He says, "Sudipto gave me a narration of the script and I was bowled over by the subjects he was dealing with."
Yet, Maradona needed a nod from his family, and mentor Raj Jagdishan.
"I spoke to Raj and my parents. Raj even met Sudipto. They assured me I was in safe hands." When the decision was made, Maradona dropped out of his final year BMM from St Xavier's College, because filming dates clashed with his Board exams. The media student found it more sensible to do something he loved.
With the landscape of Bollywood changing to make room for edgier cinema, Maradona counts himself lucky to have landed the role of troubled youth Jerry. He says, "I had a completely different idea of what a Hindi film was. When I got this project, I realised that it was something completely hatke."
What also helped was Sudipto's clear vision and his 'taskmaster' status on sets. For Maradona to get into a twisted frame of mind, Sudipto made him watch 70-odd films by various directors like Wong Kar-Wai and Ingmar Bergman. "Sudipto knew what he was pitching for. I had no freedom on set," he jokes.
Supportive cast members helped too. Maradona learnt that Bipasha Basu was in the film only after he signed on. His reaction, like that of any true-blooded male, was one wordu00a0-- 'wow'.
"When we met at Bipasha's house, she told me I had nothing to be intimidated about. Our first shot was a five-minute scene that we filmed at Whistling Woods. She knew I was a newcomer, and was supportive from the start." Maradona also had many scenes with stage icon Lillete Dubey who plays his mother.
The actor might have just stepped into Bollywood, but he has a clear vision for his career. On his wish list are directors like Vishal Bhardwaj, Anurag Kashyap and Abbas Tyrewala who he calls 'pioneers of hatke cinema'.
While he waits to tick those names off the list, Maradona is wasting no time. He has signed Sanjay Sharma's Dunno Y... Na Jaane Kyun with legends like Zeenat Aman and Helen. This debutante has arrived even before his film is out.
