Didn’t know what cinema is during Sairat, says Free Hit Danka actor Arbaz Shaikh

As far as Hindi cinema goes, December seems to be cricket month. After the release of the third season of the Amazon Prime Video web-series Inside Edge, two movies on cricket — 83 (2021) and Jersey (2021) — are lined up for release in theatres.

In Marathi cinema, too, there is at least one cricket film coming up: Free Hit Danka (2021). Directed by Sunil Govind Magare, the film features a cricket match between two sets of people who are in conflict.

The film sees Sairat (2016) actor Arbaz Shaikh in an important role. Contrary to his character of the protagonist’s friend in the 2016 film, he is playing the antagonist here.

Shaikh said playing cricket was a challenge for him. “I didn’t know how to play proper cricket,” he told Cinestaan.com. “I have only played gully cricket where we just smash every ball. So we practised cricket for a month before the shoot; how to play in terms of technique. And it worked.”

The young actor will be reunited with Sairat co-star Tanaji Galgunde in Free Hit Danka. The film also stars Fandry (2014) actor Somnath Awghade and Apurva Shelgaokar.

Shaikh was speaking on the sidelines of a friendly cricket match organized for the film’s crew at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park ground. “The film has been written well and has smartly mixed the elements of cricket, love and conflict in a village," he said. "All this is visible on screen. It has nicely portrayed the village scenario. I am sure people would feel this way.”

As it did for Galgunde, Sairat changed Shaikh’s life too. While he gave a confident performance in the Nagraj Manjule film, he was quite clueless during the making of the movie. “We didn’t even know what exactly was the main story," he said. "We didn’t even know what a film is.”

Obviously, no one in the team had expected Sairat to be such a rage. “On the first day itself people were dancing in a theatre near our village in Solapur,” Shaikh said. “People started sharing videos of the visuals. It was enjoyable! We seriously didn’t know anything about cinema. We are now slowly learning different aspects.”

Shaikh did receive a few acting offers after Sairat, but the COVID-19 pandemic also created a few problems. “Some producers backed out of some projects after the pandemic,” he said. “We faced some obstacles. But it feels good that things are opening up. Producers and directors have again started working.”

The actor believes that after Jhimma (2021) and Pandu (2021), Free Hit Danka will also shine at the box office. “We do have a lot of expectations of the film," he said. "I am sure it will run well.”

Free Hit Danka is set for release in theatres on Friday 17 December.