I have not yet got a chance to showcase my talent, says Haseena Parkar actor Rajesh Tailang

Rajesh Tailang is seen playing the role of Haseena Prakar’s lawyer Shyam Keswani.

The trailer of upcoming biopic ‘Haseena Parkar’ has taken the internet by the storm. Shraddha Kapoor is seen portraying the character of Dawood Ibrahim’s sister Haseena from the age of 17 till her late 40s in the film. The movie would have been incomplete without the strong role of Haseena Prakar’s lawyer Shyam Keswani played by Rajesh Tailang. Tailang is known for his movies like ‘Siddharth’, ‘Phantom’, ‘Dev’, ‘Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa’ and also for his role in the television series ‘Shanti’.

Talking to indianexpress.com, Tailang said that it was not easy to portray the character of Haseena Parker’s lawyer Shyam Keswani as he had to not only look 20 years older than he actually is but had to read the real case as well to understand the character. “I am playing a real life character of Shyam Keswani. The entire film revolves around the 88 cases against Haseena Parkar but she appeared just for one case in her life. This film is shot inside the court. It goes out of the court only when Parkar is narrating a story about her life. So it was really important to understand my character.”

On asking about how it was to play an older character, he said, “It is always a challenge to play an older character. You have to keep it realistic. It uses to take me at least two hours to get that get up and then it took time to portray it. I had to learn how lawyers behave. I had to depict the entire case with my acting.”

The lead actress Shraddha Kapoor and also the director of the film praised Tailang. Shraddha Kapoor said, “It was absolutely wonderful to work with Rajesh sir. He is such an amazing actor and a lovely person.” Apoorva Lakhia added, “Rajesh ji was a perfect fit for the role of a lawyer, we had to cast someone who looked like the real Shyam keshwani and he got the bill. I think he is a fantastic actor and has brought a new twist to the character, his methods are superb and he does his homework well before he comes to set. It was my luck that I got to meet him and hope we work a lot in the future, his students are lucky that they have such an astute mind teaching them the skill it takes to perform.”

Tailang revealed that it has not been an easy journey for him. He began his career with theatre and has not yet been able to get that appreciation and main lead roles. “It is difficult to tell you how it has been. I feel that I have not yet got that platform or chance to showcase my talent. I am continuously working. I started with the serial ‘Shanti’, I did around 20 films, have worked with Jaya Bachchan in ‘Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa’, but somehow, I have not been able to make it big.”

He also spoke about his globally acclaimed movie ‘Siddharth’ which was not able to make way in India. It not only received appreciation but also garnered a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Actor at the 2nd Canadian Screen Awards. “‘Siddharth’ was released all over the world but not in India. The structure of the film is not glamorous and so it was not able to attract the distributors. There was nobody to buy the film. Tannishtha Chatterjee played the lead role opposite me.” Tailang said that he feels that if the movie would have been released in India, the audience would have appreciated it. He said, “I don’t feel that the audience follow the typical Bollywood masala but it is the distributors and the commercial aspect that was difficult to crack.”

Tailang has his own YouTube channel called ‘Theatre talkies’. He is involved in producing web series and short films. “I am open to work in web series but I don’t want to do serials now as they are regressive.”

On asking him about what he wants to tell the budding theatre artists, he said, “It is not easy to work in theatre. You should be prepared to face the hard side and struggle. If you have that passion then you should try it but one is not sure when he will get the appreciation for his hard work. So come prepared.”