The trailer for Rajkummar Rao’s Prahaar: The Ujjwal Nikam Story dropped on September 29, launched fittingly at Mumbai’s CSMT, one of the sites targeted during the 26/11 attacks. Rao impresses as special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, sure. But it’s the final reveal that’s got everyone talking. The actor playing Ajmal Kasab, is Lalit Prabhakar.
For those unfamiliar with the name, Lalit is one of Marathi cinema’s most reliable heavy hitters. Born in Kalyan, he started out in experimental theatre and was among roughly thirty artists across India picked for the Ministry of Culture’s Young Artiste Scholarship. He first broke through with the Zee Marathi show Julun Yeti Reshimgathi, winning Best Actor at the Zee Marathi Awards, before making his film debut in Chi Va Chi Sau Ka, which earned him the Maharashtra State Film Award for Best Debut Actor.
His real breakthrough came with Anandi Gopal in 2019, where he played Gopalrao Joshi, husband of one of India’s first women physicians. The film picked up two National Awards, and Lalit walked away with the Filmfare Marathi Best Actor (Critics) trophy along with honours at the Pune International Film Festival and Zee Chitra Gaurav Puraskar. The momentum hasn’t slowed since, including a Jury Special Mention this year at PIFF for Toh Ti Ani Fuji.
What makes Lalit stand out is how little he repeats himself. Romantic lead in Hampi, double role in the horror-comedy Zombivli, slice-of-life work in Medium Spicy and Sunny, family comedy in Super Duperr, intense romance in Aarpar. He’s clearly not interested in staying in one lane.
Kasab isn’t even his only big real-life role coming up. Lalit will next play Dalit Panther co-founder and Padma Shri poet Namdeo Dhasal in the biopic Dhasal, scored by Ilaiyaraaja, with his first look already generating buzz.
To bag Kasab, Lalit didn’t stop at a physical transformation. He studied the terrorist’s psychology, language and body language, going all in on one of the most daring choices of his career.
Also Read: Planet Marathi Filmfare Awards Marathi 2022: Lalit Prabhakar, Anu Malik and more turn heads
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: filmfare.com
