Priyadarshan is set to release ‘Haiwaan’ on September 11, a remake of his 2016 Malayalam film ‘Oppam’. The film sees Saif Ali Khan stepping into the role of Shyam, a character originally essayed by Mohanlal. The director emphasized that it was essential for Khan to craft his own version of the character, free from the influence of Mohanlal’s earlier portrayal.
Priyadarshan kept Saif Ali Khan away from the original
He took care to keep the ‘Sacred Games’ actor from watching the original Malayalam film. Priyadarshan pointed out that Khan brought his own distinct body language, dialogue delivery and mannerisms to the role, ensuring his performance stood apart from Mohanlal’s. In conversation with Variety India, he said, “Saif has no idea what Mohanlal has done. I did not allow it. Also, everyone has their own body language, dialogue delivery and movements. It cannot be imitated. When I work with Mohanlal, I tell him to move a certain way. I don’t follow the same with Saif. His dialogue delivery, body language and hand and head gestures are completely different.”He further explained that he wanted Saif to bring his own understanding to the character rather than mirror an existing performance. “Imitation never works in acting. I saw him working on the scenes and discussed how I wanted him to approach the character. He understood my vision and has done a good job,” he adds.
Priyadarshan on portraying visual impairment authentically
Apart from shaping the performance, Priyadarshan also focused heavily on portraying Shyam’s visual impairment with authenticity. “You can’t create a world for him because he can’t see anything. Out of his five senses, one sense isn’t present, but the other four become stronger. I interviewed many visually impaired men before writing the script. When I was talking to one person, I asked him how he differentiates between day and night. He told me he does it by understanding the changes in temperature,” he shares.
Priyadarshan on inspiration from other films
Asked whether he took cues from other films, Priyadarshan responds, “Al Pacino played a visually-impaired character in ‘Scent of a Woman.’ He was driving a Ferrari as well. Filmmaking is make-believe. It is about making the audience believe what you are doing is right. You have to put in logic. Today, people have a lot of exposure to world cinema. So, they’ll ask you thousands of questions. My responsibility is to answer these questions while making the film. I tried my best to do that.”
