Didn't want to miss Kailash Satyarthi's soul while playing him, says Boman Irani

In Brahmanand S Siingh and Tanvi Jain's Jhalki, a nine-year-old girl must brave the odds to search for her seven-year-old brother who has been captured by a child trafficking ring. Besides child artistes Aarti Jha and Goraksha Sakpal, the film features Boman Irani as Nobel Peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi.

At the trailer launch of Jhalki in Mumbai, the actor spoke of how he prepared for the part. Irani told the IANS news agency, "I saw a lot of his videos on YouTube, but I have learnt one thing. While acting, when you focus more on mannerism, body language or look of the character, you forget what's going on in his heart. So, I feel working on the mannerism and look of a character is like garnishing or decoration.

“I feel if I don't talk in Kailashji’s voice, it is fine, but I have to identify with his spirit, world view and intentions while playing his character. So, I don't believe in doing imitations, I feel actors should be able to present a character's viewpoint and soul on screen."

Satyarthi is the founder of Bachpan Bachao Andolan amongst other global organizations that work for children's rights. He and his team from Bachpan Bachao Andolan have rescued more than 88,000 Indian children from the clutches of child labour, slavery and trafficking.

"I have seen three sides of Kailashji in his videos. He acts like Batman when he rescues children from child labour; it looks like an action-thriller film. When he talks with children, it looks like he is a child himself. When he explains his world view among the public and media, when he inspires them, he looks like a different person altogether. So, he has three great faces. I am not that good an actor but I have tried to imitate him as much as possible, but I didn't want to miss his soul while playing him on screen," Irani added.

Earlier this year, Boman Irani played industrialist Ratan Tata in PM Narendra Modi (2019) and will be playing another real-life character, former cricketer Farokh Engineer, in Kabir Khan's 83 (2020).