A UT police official posted at the office of SSP (Traffic and Security),Ashwani Sharma,is more popular as an actor playing the devilish Meghnad in Ramlila than a cop handling telephone calls in office. He also easily fits into the shoes of characters like Dashrath. Since he turned 16,Sharma has been participating in Ramlila. In his very first performance,he played the role of Meghnad,son of Raavan. Then director of our play Suresh Bakshi wanted a kid to play the role of Meghnad. It was a challenging task for me to play such an important role at that time, he says. Thereafter,Sharma never looked back and participated each year with all the more enthusiasm. In the next 15 years,he also started playing the role of Dashrath,father of Lord Ram. The roles of Meghnad and Dashrath are completely different from each other. While for the role of Meghnad,one requires to showcase exemplary energy levels,playing Dashrath needs the understanding of emotions that a father undergoes for his son, he says. Having an old love for acting,Sharma says,During childhood,I used to take part in school plays. However,my passion has evolved after acting in Ramlila over the years. More than having a knack for acting,I participate for a social cause. I want to promote culture and tradition of our country through the medium of Ramlila. Talking about his crew,the cop-actor says,Every year our team tries to improve the performance of our play. We often take inspiration from fight sequences shown in Bollywood movies to make action scenes in our own play more realistic. After leaving office,Sharma goes straight for his rehearsals that sometimes last till 1 am. It is a tight schedule that I have to follow,but I receive a lot of support from my staff and seniors, he says. And the strongest support comes from SSP (Traffic and Security) Maneesh Chaudhry. It is important for police personnel to have a hobby. Otherwise,stress caused by long working hours would have an adverse impact on their mental and physical health. I completely support Sharma in his work,which is for a good cause, says the SSP.
