'The Battle of Saragarhi' hasn't been abandoned: Randeep

Mumbai: Actor Randeep Hooda says his forthcoming historical drama, "The Battle of Saragarhi", will go on floors soon after hitting a roadblock earlier. Rajkumar Santoshi's "The Battle of Saragarhi" was supposed to begin shoot in October last year but got delayed apparently due to a disagreement between the producers and director over budgeting issues. "There have been lot of ups and downs. But that's a part of filmmaking. The theme of the film is 'Soora so pahchaniye, je lade deen ke het, Purja-purja kat mare, kabhu na chhade khet' (Only he is brave who fights for the cause of the poor.

He may be cut into pieces and may be killed, but he should not leave the field)," Randeep told PTI. "This is the saying of Guru Gobind Singh that they do not abandon the post (battleground). Similarly, we are not abandoning the film. We are going to make it happen," he says. The film is based on the battle of Saragarhi that took place in 1897 between British Indian Army and Afghan Orakzai tribesmen in North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan). The 40-year-old actor will be seen essaying the role of Havildar Ishar Singh in the film.

The movie generated curiosity after the "Sarbjit" actor shared his first look, sporting a turban and beard, from the film in August 2016. Randeep, who is known to get into the skin of his characters, had then started preparing for the role, including learning sword fighting, shooting with vintage guns and undergoing physical training. "The preparations are going on very well. It's a very big film, we are trying to set it in a certain budget so the film is profitable. There is a lot of pre-production involved. I think we aimed too early to start and announced the film when the pre-production was not upto the mark," he says. Another film is also being made on the same subject by Ajay Devgn, titled "Sons of Sardaar: The Battle of Saragarhi".

Rumours are rife that a movie co-produced by Karan Johar and Salman Khan starring Akshay Kumar will also be made on the same subject. Meanwhile, Randeep is gearing up for his TV debut on MTV's show "Big F". He will be hosting second season of the show which talks about the desires of young Indians. "This (show) is aimed at what our aspirations should be, where any person - male or female - can express their desires or opinions without being labelled," he says. The show is pertinent in today's times and Randeep is hopeful that it will break the stereotypes. "I feel the real change needs to happen in the mindset of men. This show is probably more for men than women. A woman is not an object of desire, she is a human being. "The whole point is, the aspirational India should have these conversations and break away from the tags we have for women," the actor says. The show will go on air from March 12.