I feasted on mangoes to gain weight for Rang Aboli: Abhyangh Kuvalekar

Director

Ajay Naik

's scintillating single, '

Rang Aboli

' came like a breath of fresh air, having kept many a long monsoon drive great company. While singers Hrishikesh Ranade and Deepika Jog Datar lent musical brilliance to the song with their melodious voices, actor Abhyangh Kuvalekar, who played the lead hero in the song's video, has interesting tales to share about his character, the shooting experience and working with Ajay. Excepts from a brief chat follow...

What was the character brief that was given to you?
A large part of the song is a flash back sequence from the 1940s era, taking place in an institute. I play the role of an arts student who meets a young and beautiful woman in college. It's love at first sight and the song was meant to complement the visuals. Ajay was very clear with regards to how the character must behave, wear and look like. I hence had to dress and look like how young men did in that era. There was a lot of research that went behind the character - from finding references to watching films of evergreen Bollywood heroes like Raj Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna and more.

You had to give up your raw-stubble look for the video...
My stubble is my most priced possession! (laughs). But Ajay was detailed in his characterization to the point that he wanted me to don a clean-shaven look, similar to what young men sported back then when stubble wasn't really in fashion. Besides this, he also insisted that I have a simple hair style with a neat parting. With it gradually came the kurta-pajama look and the one with suspenders. Ajay also insisted that the character have a 'healthy' look.

And what did you do to gain this healthy look?
Well, I had to eat a lot of mangoes! It being the season for mangoes, there was absolutely no dearth of them! I ended up putting on three kgs for the role. But thankfully, it wasn't difficult losing this weight after the shoot was done.

Tell us what the shoot experience was like.
We shot the sequence on the

Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics

campus in Pune. It was quite a refreshing experience. But unlike film or television, this music video did not give us the luxury to lip-sync and convey emotions verbally. The biggest challenge was conveying these simply through facial expressions and body language alone.

This was a debut for your leading lady, Sagarika Rukari. How according to you did she fare?
Bring a debutante, Sagarika was brilliant! She has worked extremely hard on her expressions. In fact, every time she said she was nervous, she'd deliver a good shot. I would joke with her, telling her to continue being nervous throughout. That way, every shot she'd deliver would be perfect!

Your take on Ajay as director. Anything lined up for the future with him?
Ajay is an old friend. He always wanted to work with me on something like this. That's when 'Rang Aboli' came together. As director, he had a very clear vision about his story, the music and how his characters shaped up. I for one, had a wonderful time doing this song with Ajay. I look forward to more now.