Veteran actor Shekhar Suman He talks about the films that defined his career, his enduring love for his 1984 debut ‘Utsav’ and what it was like to work alongside him. Rekha and Shashi Kapoor as absolute news. He also pondered fate, nepotism and why ‘Utsav’ deserves a second life on the big screen.
Shekhar Suman wants to bring back ‘Utsav’ i.
Speaking to India Today, Shekhar Suman traced the journey of some of his most memorable characters, highlighting the range that each role required. “My first film, ‘Utsav’, was very different from the way I am, and that character was very different.With re-releases becoming a major trend in Bollywood, Suman feels that the Shashi Kapoor-produced classic is perfectly positioned for a comeback. He said, “Aaj hi release hone chahiye (It should be released again today). He was very ahead of his time. And today, I think people would really appreciate that, the music, costumes, cinematography and jo mahal banaya tha (the palace that was built) was so beautiful. So so beautiful. Rekha looked like a billion dollars.”He also revealed an unknown fact about the film: “It was shot in two versions, in English and in Hindi. Where has the English version gone? No one knows. It was not released in English. But you know, those films are very rare.”
Shekhar Suman talks about ‘Utsav’ Rekha’s co-star
In the same interview, Suman recalled the weight of expectation on her first day of shooting. “I remember the first shot, the first day of shooting, and I said, ‘I have so much on my mind, and Shashi Kapoor ji has gambled so much’. I hoped I wouldn’t disappoint; that was driving me crazy at the time. But thanks to my acting, I could hold on.”The calm, when it arrived, was unforgettable. He said, “I remember Rekha ji praising me a lot, and Girish Karnad, Shashi Kapoor, ‘it’s very well done, and you’re a wonderful actor’, and all that stayed with me.”Before starring alongside Rekha, Suman was once anonymously in a crowd watching her shoot. “I remember once I came to Bombay, and they took me to a shoot. He was shooting Mr. Shatrughan Sinhaand I was standing in the crowd, looking at him like that. I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s Rekha, that’s wonderful.’ I didn’t know that, three or four years later, I would work with him”, he recalled.Of working with her, she said: “I was absolutely in love with her. Not scared, but definitely in awe of him. He is very dedicated and a strong performer. When he’s in a scene, you feel like the character has come to life.”
Shekhar Kapur tackles nepotism
Suman considered Shashi Kapoor’s belief in the new talent as a turning point in his life. He said, “And it was thanks to people like Shashi Kapoor, who is a great producer, who believed in a newcomer like me. They talk about nepotism – imagine, he picked me up from nowhere. Within two weeks, I had just come to Bombay, and within two months, I was shooting (with him). It’s unimaginable to come for a new role like that. But such is fate,” he said.
More about Shekhar Suman
On the work front Shekhar Suman was recently seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Heeramandi’. She will next be seen in Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘King’, Prakash Raj’s ‘Jan Aadesh’ and ‘Reporting Life’.
