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Tandav: Saif Ali Khan opens up on practicing Sanskrit for his role; AR Rahman talks about adapting the iconic ‘Dhakka Laga Bukka’ for the series

Saif Ali Khan’s Tandav is perhaps one of the most awaited web shows of 2021. The recently released Amazon Original series trailer has already got the fans buzzing and everyone is eager to witness the first of its kind Indian political thriller. Created by Ali Abbas Zafar, Tandav will see Saif in a multi layered, never seen before character along with Dimple Kapadia, Gauahar Khan, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Kumud Mishra, Shonali Nagrani, Zeeshan Ayyub, Kritika Kamra and others. Here’s some more news about the series.

Saif opens up on practicing Sanskrit for his role in the series

Saif plays Samar Pratap Singh in Tandav. Talking about brushing up on Sanskrit, he said, “There were various influences that come into how you do something and prepare for a particular character. My character is a politician who tends to talk a lot in public places and so there were a lot of Sanskrit-ized Hindi speeches that I had to prepare for Samar’s character. The fun fact here is – I absolutely love speaking Sanskrit. At times we have a heavy shooting day and there are times when we have a lighter day. In this show, I had to speak almost 4 Sanskrit speeches every day. So, I had to learn a lot of heavy duty lines to perfect this role.”

On playing a grey shaded character in the show, Saif recalled, “I have done quite a few roles with grey shaded characters and I have thoroughly enjoyed them. Rather than playing milky-white character, I do find this more interesting and experimental. I am glad that I am able to play Samar’s character- vulnerable, fierce, authoritative and kind. It is like channeling a different part of your energy. Moreover, I don’t think playing a politician’s character is risky at all. Tandav is not a documentary, it a fictional account.”

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AR Rahman adapts iconic song ‘Dhakka Laga Bukka’ as Tandav’s anthem

Tandav is a hard-hitting political drama that needed an anthem to depict the hard-hitting scenario of election rallies. AR Rahman has now adapted and re-recorded one of his most iconic songs, Dhakka Laga Bukka, from the 2004 cult Bollywood film Yuva, to make the Tandav Anthem. A first for any digital series, this powerful version draws on the revolutionary strains of the original song, while featuring compelling new lyrics from the original lyricist Mehboob Alam, in the haloed voices of Rahman and Nakul Abhyankar.

Talking about the adaptation, Rahman said, “Certain songs become a part of our culture. Dhakka Laga Bukka from Mani Ratnam’s Yuva is one such song that helped shape the youth culture of that time, leaving an imprint on listeners. As Tandav also evokes the same sensibilities, it felt right to adapt it for this new web series.” Tandav will premiere on January 15, 2021 and will be available for Prime members in India and in more than 240 countries and territories.

(Source: Agencies)

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