Zaan Khan on shooting partition scenes in Kyun Utthe Dil Chhod Aaye: I gave my all to make it look real, ended up bruising my hands, face

MUMBAI: Soaking in every bit of the experience while shooting the crucial partition scenes in the show Kyun Utthe Dil Chhod Aaye, Randheer Raizada aka Zaan Khan is hopeful the viewers would enjoy watching them too. The actor also talks about how difficult it is to film such scenes making sure that it looks convincing. “I gave my all while shooting to make it look real and ended up bruising my hands and face. Such scenes expect a lot more out of you. After the 12-15 hours of hard work that you put in, what you see on screen is just 15-20 minutes of it. There are many characters in those scenes, so I have tried to make sure when Randheer comes for those 15-20 minutes, he touches a chord,” he says.

Khan did all the stunts required for these scenes himself. He also mentions about a graveyard sequence for which he had to smear mud on his face and body. “I can’t reveal much at this point in time but all I can say it wasn’t an easy ride but I have given my best. I just hope people would not be disappointed with what they see it on screen,” he adds.  The journey of filming this partition sequence was internal as well for Khan. His grandfather was a freedom fighter, who worked closely with the likes of Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi. “My nana used to tell me all the stories… even my mom and nani would do the same. His life was quite an interesting journey. He also spoke about the partition and how they fought for the freedom for our country. I would get goosebumps every time he narrated those tales. I remember him talking about going to jail too. I used to visualise his stories and would ask them several questions. Shooting these scenes took me back to those days,” he shares.

Khan didn’t refer to anyone or anything to enact these scenes except for the stories he heard from my grandfather. “When I work on a character I don’t look for any reference as I want it to be original. The script and what the director wants is important, rest is all about what I do with the character. Be it how I look, portray my actions or reactions, do voice modulation etc, everything I do is my own. The feedback I receive helps me in making things better. I want to create characters that would be a reference point for others,” he adds.