Actor Manohar Pandey, who is best known for his work in films like ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ and ‘Super 30’, plays the role of Angad, son of Bali and the nephew of the Vanar king Sugriv in Om Raut’s mythological film ‘Adipurush’.
The actor initially faced difficulty because the scenes were being shot through motion capture.
Speaking of the difficulties he faced whilst playing Angad, Manohar said: “Yes, it was a big challenge because first time in India I think motion capture has been done by director Om Raut and I am part of it, so I didn’t know about how motion capture is going to be shot. We did intense workshops before shooting to understand the technicalities of motion capture.”
He continued: “I worked on how Angad will walk and behave. Ashish Pathode guided and trained to approach the character of Angad differently because in motion capture while performing there is helmet and camera is held just in front of eyes. So to understand the character with all the technical aspects was really fun to learn and explore.”
Angad is sent by Rama as a messenger to Lanka’s king Ravana, to give him one last chance of returning Sita to her husband, an offer which the proud king refused. Possessing incredible strength and martial prowess, in the war which followed, Angad battled and slayed many warriors in Ravana’s army, including his son Narantaka and one of his generals.
Giving the backstory of his character, the actor said: “I am playing Angad in Adipurush, Bali Putra Angad who is prince of Kishkindha. Kishkindha’s king Bali banished his brother Sugriva, who had assumed his throne. Sugriva sought the assistance of Raghav. In a dual between the brothers, Bali was slain by an arrow of Raghav, shot in his chest. Angad follows the command of Ram Raghav and accepts Sugriva as king of Kishkindha who is his uncle and joins the army of Raghav to get Janki Mata back from Lankesh (Saif Ali Khan).”
He also spoke about the pressure on performing well considering people know Ramayana and have high expectations.
He shared: “People have high expectations with Adipurush because it is based on Hindu epic mythology and everyone’s mind is pre-occupied with characters. They see characters in a certain way what they have in their mind so it is tough to accept today’s Ramayana but not impossible because Om sir as a director, his vision is far ahead and I believe eventually people will accept it, like it and enjoy Om Raut’s epic.
Based on the classical Hindu epic Ramayana penned by the great sage and poet Valmiki thousands of years ago, the character of Angad is instrumental in the epic, becoming one of the commanders in prince Rama’s army and leading the search of Sita in Lanka alongside Hanuman and Jambhava.
Made on a budget of Rs 700 crore, ‘Adipurush’ is one of India’s most expensive films and stars Prabhas, Kriti Sanon and Saif Ali Khan, Sunny Singh and Devdutta Nagein the lead.
The film is currently playing in cinemas.
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