My character is responsible for the humour in Dhadak, says actor Shridhar Watsar

The trailer of director Shashank Khaitan’s Dhadak introduced the protagonists of the film and gave a glimpse of its supporting characters.

The film, produced by Karan Johar, is the official Hindi remake of Nagraj Popatrao Manjule's Marathi blockbuster Sairat (2016). The lead actor (Akash Thosar) in the original had two friends (played by Arbaz Shaikh and Tanaji Galgunde) helping him; first in wooing the heroine, and then in eloping with her. Khaitan's Dhadak too will have two simialr characters. One of them is played by Shridhar Watsar.

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Watsar made his film debut with Ribhu Dasgupta's Michael (2011) and was then seen in Umesh Shukla's OMG: Oh My God! (2012). He has also tried his hands in television and has prominently featured in serials like Krishnaben Khakhrawala and Baal Veer.

In an interview with us, Watsar spoke about his role and the experience of shooting Dhadak.

“I am Ishaan Khatter’s close friend in the film, Purushottam. I am always seen with him. He has a restaurant, which is like my house,” he said.

Watsar revealed that his character brings the comic relief in the film. “There are a lot of funny scenes. It is my character that will provide humour to the public in this film. This must be Shashank ji’s motive. It was fun to shoot that lake scene in Jaipur. It is based on that ‘Yed Lagla’ song sequence from Sairat,” he said.

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One of the most memorable scenes from the trailer is when Madhukar (Ishaan Khatter) sings ‘Kaise Batayen Kyun Tujhko Chaahen’ song in English on the demands of his lady love Parthavi (Janhvi Kapoor). Speaking about the scene, Watsar added, “He [Madhukar] wanted to impress Parthavi, which is Janhvi’s character. My character gives the idea and they agree to it.”

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Before the film's shoot began, the cast was gathered for workshops. Watsar says he enjoyed the entire process of the film, right from when the workshops began. “It was enjoyable right from the workshops. Our film went on floors on 1 December and we started our workshops at Dharma Productions’ [office] before a month or month-and-a-half. We then shot in Udaipur, Jaipur, Mumbai and Kolkata,” he informed.

When asked about working with Khatter, Watsar couldn't stop raving about the young actor. “We had a great rapport right from the workshops. He still keeps in touch with me. Despite being busy with promotions, he calls up whenever he gets time," he said, adding, "He asks about my well-being and plans meeting me. He is a humble person. We meet in between and watch films. As far as acting is concerned, he is a very thinking actor who works hard.”

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Watsar is grateful to casting director Mukesh Chhabra for giving him the opportunity. “I got this role because of Mukesh Chhabra ji. He called me for the audition. I had to give four to five auditions and then I was finalized by Shashank Khaitan ji," he said, adding that he finalised for the part only after he gave an audition with Khatter and Kapoor.