Indresh Malik Injured on Set of Heeramandi: Lips Cut

Indresh Malik, who made his acting debut in shows like Paatal Lok, Maska, and Gumrah, won people's hearts with his acting in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film 'Gangubai Kathiawadi'. The magic of Indresh's acting was such that Sanjay Leela Bhansali gave him the role of the bisexual character Ustad Ji in the Netflix show 'Hiramandi', which Indresh played very well. Indresh won the hearts of the audience in the style of Ustad Ji.

Indresh's Stellar Portrayal: Ustad Ji in 'Hiramandi'

When you were approached for the role of Ustad Ji of Hiramandi, what was the first thought that came to your mind?

I had received a call from Shruti Mahajan ji's office, the call for Gangubai had also come from there. She told me about the character and a little bit about the story. She told that the story is based on Lahore, Rawalpindi in 1940. People from my parents' side came to India from Lahore and Rawalpindi. We had heard the story before partition from our grandparents. When I heard about this character and I came to know that they wanted to audition for this role, I immediately said that I would do this role. My inner self knew that I was waiting for such a character, I wanted to do the character with all my heart.

Your character in Gangubai was also intense and in this too your character is intense. What kind of challenges did you face in playing a bisexual character?

When you play a character honestly then the challenge starts from there. When you are in front of the camera, you have to satisfy the director, writer, and their team sitting there with your work. If I talk about myself, I am a director and actor, so I surrender before the director and then he can mold me into the character created by him as per his wish. According to me, half the challenge is over when the character's briefing is given properly and the rest of your own life experiences help you in this thing. No character is that difficult if you play it honestly.

What kind of study did you do for this character? And did you meet anyone to mold yourself into this character?

To be honest, I had not studied anything like this. If I meet someone, I keep certain things in my mind about them. I have learned a lot in theatre. I observe things and people, and many actors do this. I just read about the character and tried to understand it. The character of Ustad ji is from Lahore, he is bisexual and speaks Urdu. Now the Urdu spoken in Lahore is Punjabi Urdu. And my family members were also from Lahore, so I knew about Urdu because they used to use that language. I have learned a lot from this character and will continue to learn like this in the future too.

Many actors say that after playing an intense character it becomes difficult to get out of that character, so was it difficult for you too to get out of this character?

The shooting of the show continued for a long time. I used to apply aalta daily, and I try to be a perfectionist, so I used to apply aalta on my feet even when my feet were in shoes. And after the shooting it had to be taken off because I am a clean freak, I have OCD. I also sweat a lot so my makeup used to flow. My character used to eat paan but now I cannot eat paan all the time so I had to wear lipstick. And instead of paan, I used to eat cardamom. In the scorching heat, I had to carry a kurta, pajama, cap, and shawl. And along with this, I was also wearing jewelry. After this character, I have started respecting women more. Wore big rings on her fingers. There was one such scene where Sonakshi had to hit me by throwing a vase but her hand accidentally touched my mouth and my lips got cracked from inside and blood started coming from there. It was a bit difficult to wear such heavy clothes and jewelry but when the shooting was over, I felt empty for a few days. Now that I am in my comfortable clothes, I feel very happy.

There are big renowned actors in Heeramandi, so how was the experience of working with them?

All are very nice people and I have worked with them like a co-star. I felt very comfortable with everyone, and I never felt like I was working among the stars. Everyone was very encouraging and helpful. I had a lot of fun with Sharmin and also talked about a lot.

You have spent so much time with these beautiful actresses on the set. Want to share some memories?

I was the only man among all these women. The atmosphere was very nice and beautiful. Working was also a lot of fun. To break the intensity of the scene after it was cut, I used to shout 'Wow' a little louder. I used to like it.

Is there any dream role that you would like to do in the future?

There is no such dream role in my mind. Good writers write very good stories and if someone writes a character keeping me in mind, I will try to perform as per their vision and live up to their expectations. This work is like any other work, only there is a lot of creativity in it. God has given me this skill which I try to improve. There are many famous people in this world, I am nothing in front of them. I still have a lot to learn. Whatever work I do, I do it honestly.

What feedback have you received from your friends for this character?

No one gives a more brutally honest opinion than your childhood friends who were with you in school and college. And the happiness that their opinion gives you is unmatched. When friends sent messages about this character, it felt good and happy to read it. Raju Kher ji also got a message, he said that he liked my character. When so many people speak well about you, then it seems that I have also done something good and then it seems that now they expect even better things from me. And this time I feel a little nervous.

 

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