Lead actors of the series Freedom at Midnight, Sidhant Gupta and Arif Zakaria, share how it was a challenging task to essay renowned historical figures
Mona
Everything in life happens for a reason. Actor Sidhant Gupta strongly believes in the dictum. Seen in Nikhil Advani’s Freedom at Midnight, Sidhant was an avid sportsperson in his younger days. He played three sports —cricket, swimming and basketball, representing his state, Jammu & Kashmir, and was on his way to becoming a pilot when he got a foothold in entertainment industry.
After numerous modeling assignments, it was the show Tashan-e-Ishq (2015-2016) that earned him widespread recognition. Films Bhoomi and Operation Romeo to his credit, his last web series, Jubilee, saw him play Jay Khanna. In a span of 10 years, he has seamlessly transitioned between different mediums.
As he was looking for something challenging post Jubilee, his ‘nose’ landed him the iconic role of Jawaharlal Nehru! He jokes, “Nikhil (Advani) sir looked at my nose and was like ‘oh’. And next, I was wondering if I could pull off the role.”
Considering this is his life’s greatest role, Sidhant understands the responsibility that comes with it. “When you play a real character, you want to reach as close to the person as you possibly can,” he avers. Considering the script his Bible, he stayed away from the book Freedom at Midnight that the show takes inspiration from. Instead, he read Nehru. “Thankfully, he had written plenty of books himself and that helped a lot in understanding the person he was.”
Exploring recent history, the story of India’s freedom, the series had a couple of revelations that shocked Sidhant. “It was just very enlightening while it was also painful and brutal — the country was being divided by the British. It’s very important where we come from. Everyone needs to know it.”
Freedom at Midnight is made on a mega-budget, but Sidhant insists there were no easy or fun parts to it. “It’s a painful story, but a significant story that was to be told.”
He is equally vociferous about the show’s creator and director Nikhil Advani. Calling him a gift to the industry, Sidhant says, “The way he’s told the story is like as if you are sitting on rocket taking off. The show would further cement his credibility as a filmmaker.”
In his life’s most challenging role thus far, Sidhant finds the Midnight Speech to be the tricky one. “Nehru’s Midnight Speech is celebrated throughout the globe, even until today, for all the right reasons. It somehow covered entire history of where we are coming from. It was very emotional to recreate that.”
When not acting, Sidhant loves to write. Very much a project-a-time kind of a person, he does complete justice before embarking on his next project.
Playing Jinnah
Veteran actor Arif Zakaria was in for a surprise when he received a call from Advani’s office about the show. Having read the book Freedom at Midnight by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, he was curious to know on how they would turn such a big tome into a show. In the next meeting, he was finalised for the role of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and thus started the journey to what he calls ‘one of his most memorable roles’.
Combing through the footage, speeches and literature available, Zakaria trained under a dialect coach in Urdu. Jinnah, an elite lawyer, largely spoke English, and Zakaria in order to take on that mantle went through the whole look, make-up, body language and mannerism process. Most daring of it all was to pick up smoking. “I had to smoke a cigar for the role and it was very hard to start smoking since I have been a non-smoker,” he shares. Thankfully, it wasn’t that hard to quit post the shooting got over!
Zakaria enjoyed teaming up with Advani. He is as inspired, as jealous of his craft! “Advani is always a step ahead. As an actor one thinks I have read the scene, I am prepared for it but he always has something new to add to it.” Zakaria mentions how Advani has spent years on the subject, writing and honing each character.”
A very intense role, Zakaria enjoyed shooting through Punjab and Rajasthan. “Some projects leave an imprint on you, Freedom at Midnight is one of them.”
Over three decades in the industry, he’s been part of iconic projects, right from 1947: Earth to Raazi. Ask him about his memorable roles and he mentions people rather projects. “Ours is one profession where people meet, bonds are formed; you break apart to come together again.”
He fondly remembers Kalpana Lajmi, who launched him in Darmiyaan: In Between. Amongst projects he talks of Raazi and Nanak Shah Fakir. “The film based on the life of Baba Nanak was very inspiring,” shares Zakaria, who is a narrator in this one.
Zakaria recently did his first Punjabi film titled Mastaney. “I love Punjab — its people, food and culture. Mastaney, directed by Sharan Art, was one good project. I believe film chal bhi gayi.”
A couple of shows and films on the anvil, Zakaria is looking forward to the response to Freedom at Midnight, which streams on Sony LIV from today.
On the same lines
Freedom at Midnight by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre has also been adapted into a fictional drama film Viceroy’s House (2017) by Gurinder Chadha.
Richard Attenborough’s directorial Gandhi (1982), brings forth the journey of Gandhi, leading the Indian revolt against the British rule through his philosophy of non-violent protest.
Kamal Haasan-directorial Hey Ram (2000) depicts India’s Partition and the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
Partition 1987 is Ken McMullen-directorial which sees Partition from the eyes of the inmates in an asylum.
Jinnah (1998) is Pakistani–British biographical film, which follows the life of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
