Raj Arjun to play Veerappan; Ayrish Patil to also feature in Savdhan India’s upcoming maha movie

Life OK’s Savdhan India will soon churn out an interesting maha episode which will deal with the life and happenings of infamous and brutal sandalwood dacoit, deceased Veerappan. The particular maha movie is being produced by Spellbound Productions. For the role of the brigand, the makers have brought in talented and veteran thespian Raj Arjun. Raj was earlier seen as Chandal in Life OK’s Savitri and has also shown his chamak in 70mm in a couple of Bollywood films namely Rowdy Rathore and the recent Satyagraha. Coming back to the Savdhan India project, our source informed that to avoid any kind of controversy, the creatives will not use Veerappan’s name directly but Raj’s character will be christened Lakhan. The story will see Lakhan kidnapping superstar Rajkumar (being played by Manoj Jaiswal, who was earlier seen in Punar Vivah and Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai) while Ayrish Patil, who played a cameo in Kya Hua Tera Vada, Pavitra Rishta, and Hum Ne Li Hai Shapath will play Rajkumar’s son-in-law. Both of them would be abducted and hidden in a jungle by Lakhan and company for 40 days. As a matter of fact, in real life Veerappan had kidnapped Kannada film actor Rajkumar and kept in his custody for 108 days. In this maha movie, the makers have changed the locale and have shown Madhya Pradesh as the backdrop. To know more about the role, we called Raj on which he shared, “Yes, I am doing maha movie for Savdhan India. It was very challenging for me to portray Veerappan. For the same, I had to do a lot of research on his looks and attitude. Though a subtle looking person, he was yet a very powerful man.” “While shooting for this, I never felt that I was playing the role for a television show but thought I was actually doing a movie. Other than the costumes, I have kept my look very natural. He had a big moustache, but for me growing so long a moustache in a short time was difficult. So I had to put on a fake one but kept my original beard intact. It was a fantastic experience. I only hope that people will like me in my new avatar.” Later, when we got in touch with Ayrish Patil, he averred, “I have done many cameos in television shows, but this has been the best till date. It was an honour to work for Savdhan India. In the movie, I play Rajkumar’s son-in-law. Overall, it was an amazing experience. I hope viewers like our effort.” Earlier it has been reported in the media that Priyal Gor will play the role of a journalist in the same maha movie. Her character will act as a source of contact between Lakhan and the government. Furthermore, Faizal Raza Khan will play the role of an inspector. When contacted Spellbound producer Pearl Grey, she said, “I am happy to work for the series. This is my first maha movie for Savdhan India. This movie is based on the real life story of Veerappan kidnapping South super star Rajkumar. We got to shoot at lot many exteriors, and it was an interesting shooting phase. We got to shoot at the dense jungles of Filmcity, Borivili National Park. Due to time constraints, we could not go out of Mumbai.” The maha movie will go on air on Sunday (29 September 2013).