HYDERABAD : Swarna Khadgam, a new TV show, to be dubbed in 14 languages including Hindi and telecast simultaneously, is being called the Baahubali of TV. Interestingly, its technical crew have been a part of Baahubali too. The show comes from Arka Media of Baahubali fame. Sundip Ved, the actor who plays the villain Shirothkhanda, has already created waves with his menacing looks.
He’s already worked in super hit TV shows like Diya Aur Baati Hum, Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma and anchored Beg Borrow Steal and was also seen in Alia Bhatt’s Raazi. In a chat with him, he told us that it took several look tests to nail the final look. It takes him over two hours each day to get into his look and there have been several instances where his co-actors and even friends and family couldn’t recognize him after make up. He said that since Shirothkhanda was different from him, he takes that time to meditate and try to get into character.
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The Bhallala Deva of the TV screen: Sundip Ved has done all the hands on work an actor is supposed to do – he is an anchor, actor and voice artiste (from Mumbai) with about 12 years of experience in theatre (in fact he is very well known in the local hyderabad theater scene) and media. Sundip has been part of movies like Janatha Garage, Bobby Jasoos and the recent box office smasher Raazi.The producers are Prasad Devineni garu and Arka Media. Director Yata has directed mega TV shows like ‘Chandramukhi’ in the past. The cast comprises Lakshmish Bhatt, Sanjana Galrani, Poonam Kaur, Meghana, Chalapati Raju and others. The crew, including the camera team, art department and vfx team have tones of experience under their belt and most of them were also associated with Baahubali.
“When I was first offered a Telugu TV show, I was a bit reluctant, as I’m settled in Mumbai now. But as soon as I heard the name Arka Media, I jumped with excitement. I auditioned for the character in Mumbai and gave it my all. I soon got a confirmation call and had to immediately start working on my physique – as all my scenes are bare chested. I later came to know that they had auditioned almost a 100 actors for this role. But after auditioning me, the director had immediately instructed his team to stop auditioning any further. It was one proud moment for me!”
Talking about the looks of Shirothkhanda are menacing tell us about the preparation that went behind the scenes, he says, “Prepping for the character involved long sessions of make up and costume trials and rehearsals... But we wanted to leave no stone unturned to make Shirothkhanda look the best. It takes two hours to get ready every day and it’s a game of patience I must say. It includes make up, body paint, prosthetics, costumes and accessories. I’m one of the first people to reach the set every day,” he says.
The makeover was so drastic that a female co-star who met me for the first time directly on the set refused to believe it was me once I had taken off the make up. Shooting for the show was a different ball game altogether, he says.
“The character and his mannerisms are extremely loud, very different from anything I’ve done till date. But thankfully it was the expert guidance of Yata and my theatre background (I’ve done about 10 years of theatre with Sutradhar theatre group, Hyderabad) that helped me transform into the character. My character’s catchphrase is “Dhoom Dhit” and it was on everyone’s lips on the set within no time! I hope we get the same reactions from the audience. “We shot in some extreme conditions to make this happen and really hope that the audience appreciates our work,” he says. The show airs on ETV.
