Sushant Singh Rajput has taken Bollywood back to the dreaded Chambal Valley in his upcoming film Sonchiriya, directed by Abhishek Chaubey. Even though there is a plethora of movies that are already set in the bandits-hounded area, the actor chose not to let those references influence his work. “I have seen both Bandit Queen and Pan Singh Tomar over the years, and have seen them quite a few times. They are cult movies. There is a long list of films, but these two movies are up there. But, there is no reference to all that for me in this film. I had the script, the director Abhishek and other actors to be around for me to execute my character. I have not used any references for those films, but then I have learnt from all those films,” says the actor.
Working with a seasoned campaigner like Manoj Bajpayee gave him the heebie-jeebies. “When I walk up to a man with a body of work like what he has, I would literally shake. But then Abhishek sir has written the character for me in such a manner that I was actually supposed to be scared in the film when I was in front of him. Guess that helped a lot,” says Sushant about the film, which also stars Bhumi Pednekar, Ashutosh Rana and Ranveer Shorey for the seasoned producer Ronnie Screwvala.
Gushing about being a part of such a seasoned star-cast, Sushant shares, “If you work a lot, you don’t work hard or smart. It is a great time working with actors like these. You will think we have worked a lot. I can confidently say that I think I am successful because I have been a part of a star cast that includes these actors.”
The team of Sonchiriya also had to prep for the film in the Bundelkhandi dialect that is spoken in and around the Chambal Valley. “We had to first learn the language and by the time we were shooting for the film, we knew the language and our lines as well,” he adds.
— Sanskriti Media
