I learned sign language for Jeevan Saathhi

It has been a decade since I started my career in television. When I look back, I realise that I have always been lucky in terms of the large variety of roles I have played. Not everyone gets opportunities to play so many shades of characters ranging from a loving husband to a cruel villain. I honestly feel that if it was not for sheer luck, I would not have got so many opportunities. More so because I am an introvert by nature and just cannot blow my own trumpet. But I guess hard work really pays off. And there is no better example than my own life. When I was offered the role of Ishwar in Jeevan Saathhi– a person with speech challenges – I was given a lead time of three and a half months to prepare for the role. I made full use of that time and learned the sign language that is used by such special people. I also did a lot of homework on how such people move around, their psychology and even lifestyle. But when I started shooting for the show, the challenges that came forward were completely different. Ishwar, in the show, is very poor and is a struggler. What it meant for me was – I could not use too much of sign language. Because, unfortunately in our country learning sign language is still limited to special children who come from well- to- do families. So I had to develop my own sign language for the show. Something that Ishwar improvised while talking to his near and dear ones. Plus, since there are no dialogues, my expressions have to do the talking. Overall, it is a very big challenge that I took up. But I also must admit that I learned a lot in the process. Apart from the realisation that we are so lucky as compared to special people, I also started respecting them a lot more. I don’t know why, but Ishwar keeps reminding me of Ajay Devgan’s character in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam