Sardar Udham director says Kaushal’s haunting performance should have been recognised, as he dedicates film’s National Award wins to original choice Irrfan Khan
A still from the film
When we get on a call with Shoojit Sircar a day after his Sardar Udham (2021) bagged five wins at the 69th National Awards, including the Best Hindi Film, the joy in his voice is palpable. And yet, there is also a lingering guilt. The filmmaker dedicates the National Award to his late actor-friend Irrfan Khan, the original choice for the role. “There is some kind of guilt in me that I did not work with him on this. He had also told me to move on. Every day, deep inside me, it hurts. I got the award, but he wasn’t here. The vacuum is still there. It’s not just Sardar Udham, I will dedicate whatever I can to him,” says Sircar.
Irrfan Khan and Shoojit Sircar
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That said, the director is proud of leading man Vicky Kaushal, who brought to screen the anger, agony and courageous spirit of Udham Singh. Sircar echoes the thoughts of many as he says that Kaushal should have been adjudged the Best Actor. Telugu star Allu Arjun won in that category for Pushpa: The Rise (2021). “Vicky undoubtedly deserved the Best Actor award. The way he transformed into Sardar Udham is commendable. We started with the Jallianwala Bagh sequence. The first shot was of Udham picking up [the dead] bodies, feeling the weight and pain. The set was witnessing that nightmare. That set the tone of the film. Vicky couldn’t sleep for nights, and carried that disturbance throughout other parts of the movie.”
The biographical historical drama also won awards for cinematography, production design, audiography and costume design. Sircar says the awards’ significance lies in the fact that the movie highlighted ideas that are currently debated across the world. “In today’s times when you are talking about freedom of speech and what it means to be a revolutionary, getting this recognition is a [marker of] hope.”
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