In Bad Company

In Badarjun Rampal on Playing Arun Gawli in Daddy and Being Daddy Cool at Home… Suman Sharma Listens in Company 

- Suman Sharma

Arjun Rampal’s Daddy may have taken a while to complete but it has managed to whip up sufficient curiosity. Reportedly, based on the life and times of Mumbai based gangster/politician Arun Gawli, the film was in fact rescheduled on the request of Gawli’s daughter Geeta. Daddy was supposed to hit the theatres on July 21 but will now release in September as Geeta wanted it to release when her father, who’s serving a term, would be out on parole.

The film, set in the ’70s, traces Gawli’s life from a crime lord to a legislator (representing the Akhil Bharatiya Sena), a position he held from 2004 to 2009. The biopic, directed by Ashim Ahluwalia, also features actors Nishikant Kamat, Aishwarya Rajesh, and Anand Ingale in key roles besides Arjun Rampal in the titular role.

Earlier this year, the internet almost crashed when Arjun Rampal’s first look from Daddy was revealed, his striking resemblance to Arun Gawli grabbed eyeballs. Arjun, who has also cowritten and co-produced the film, was keen to get the look right. “It was challenging to make a film, which is honest and not a propaganda vehicle. We didn’t want to make it boring. We wanted to keep it entertaining and engaging for the audience,” says Arjun. Getting the permissions from the family was another challenge. Arjun maintains that it was his persistence to make the film, which somewhere convinced Gawli and his family to give the nod. “Everyone wants to be portrayed in a particular manner. Arun Gawli realised I wanted to present him honestly – neither making him a hero nor portraying him negatively,” he says. He denies that they have glorified the gangster. “I told Gawli that this is no propaganda film. I convinced him that I had to show his past, what he became and how he became. We have delved into the human side,” he explains.”