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AAMIR KHAN8217;s not the only one with a moustache issue. Sachin Khedekar had to shave his thick 8217;tache for Netaji Subhash Chandra Bos...

AAMIR KHAN8217;s not the only one with a moustache issue. Sachin Khedekar had to shave his thick 8217;tache for Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose: A Forgotten Hero.

8216;8216;It was a very big decision. I had an image of a moonchwala actor. I wasn8217;t ready for this kind of experimentation,8217;8217; laughs the 39-year-old.

To land the role of Bose, Khedekar got together photographer Jagdish Mali, make-up artiste Bahadur and dress man James. They worked for a week on getting Bose8217;s Indian National Army INA look right. Khedekar even shaved off his moustache for the photos that he sent to Shyam Benegal.

It worked. The director called him for a screen test 10 minutes after he received the photos. Benegal8217;s first question to him was about his height 58217;108217;8217;. Luckily for Khedekar, Bose was also the same height. That clinched it.

Khedekar had unsuccessfully done the rounds of Benegal8217;s office before, including when the director was casting for Mammoo and Zubeida.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose: A Forgotten Hero depicts the last five years of the firebrand leader8217;s life, when he formed the INA after his escape from Calcutta to Peshawar, Kabul and Germany. Khedekar calls it 8216;8216;a textbook film8217;8217;.

Benegal8217;s brief to the actor was clear: At no given point of time will you look vulnerable. 8216;8216;Bose was a fearless leader. I had to play him like that. If you see documentary footage, you will see that he never looks down while walking. I had to get all the details right,8217;8217; he says.

Benegal also prescribed English-speaking lessons from theatre actor Shernaz Patel 8216;8216;to get the correct pronounciation, since Bose had studied in England and 30 per cent of the film is in English.8217;8217;

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But the real challenge for the Maharashtrian was to get the Bong accent. 8216;8216;It8217;s so tough to speak Bengali,8217;8217; says Khedekar, who was asked to follow the lip movement of the Bengali actors in the Calcutta schedule of the film. Khedekar did his bit of research too. He saw two documentaries on the freedom fighter and read eight books.

BOSE BASICS

8226; Khedekar was an environmental engineer before becoming a full-time actor
8226; He played the role of Rani Mukerji8217;s brother in Bichchu and rates her as his favourite actor
8226; Khedekar is a veteran of Marathi theatre, and has acted with the likes of Vinay Apte and Sai Paranjape
8226; Good friend Mahesh Manjrekar gave him his most acclaimed roles in Astitva and Hathyar
8226; His roles as a mature lover in Ravi Rai8217;s Sailaab, Teacher and TV serial Thodha Hai Thodhe Ki Zaroorat Hai earned him recognition

Bose has left an indelible impression on the actor. 8216;8216;His discipline and passion set him apart. He had the facts on the back of his hand and always thought in forward mode. I mean, he made a force out of Indian POWs caught in Germany and South Asia. And that too with foreign funding,8217;8217; he says.

8216;8216;For the man on the street, I am an actor. But I hope that after this film, they call me Netaji,8217;8217; he grins.

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Khedekar will next be seen playing a Muslim newspaper editor in skin flick Siskiyan, starring Neha Dhupia, and in a cameo in Samar Khan8217;s romantic comedy Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye.

Ask him if he8217;s hoping for Benegal8217;s assured return gift for his actors8212;a national award8212;and he laughs, 8216;8216;That8217;s something my work will decide. But if that happens, it8217;ll be heaven.8217;8217;