Hitlist dropped in on Sarkar 3 set on the first day of shooting to see RGV and Big Breturn to comfort ground
Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; October 20, 2016)

Amitabh Bachchan has moved into a new home. Not the actor, but the character he is currently playing. Shooting for the third installment of Ram Gopal Varma’s political drama Sarkar 3, Bachchan and the supporting cast started shooting at Filmistan Studio on Tuesday, eight years after Sarkar Raj.

“Sarkar has moved to a new home since the old residence kept reminding him of his late son Shankar Nagre (played by Abhishek Bachchan),” says Ramu about the character of Subhash Sarkar Nagre, when we meet him on set. The story moves forward, says the director, as does the legacy.

In the living room hangs a framed picture of Shankar, and in the first shot of the shoot, Bachchan stands before it wearing a roomy black shirt and lungi, the characteristic rudraksh mala around his neck and wrist, a tilak firm on his forehead. He then slips into a sofa, sipping his tea from a saucer. “Amitji slips into the character seamlessly, taking you back in an instant to 2005 when you first met Sarkar,” he says.

The two are engage in constant chatter between shots while Ronit Roy, who plays Sarkar’s right hand man’ and Bajrangi Singh (Deven Gandhi) prepare for their scenes. Abhishek drops in on set at some point, spending time with his father and Ramu in the vanity van during their break.

Amit Sadh, who plays Shivaji Nagre, Sarkar’s grandson, isn’t shooting today, but is here to get a feel of the set and try on some costumes before he joins the unit the next day.

But it’s the return of Ram Gopal Varma’s old friend, Manoj Bajpayee that has the director excited. “Manoj plays a character close to a real-life personality, and in the film, he is Rohini Hattangadi’s son.’’ We hear that Bajpayee and Amitabh Bachchan are to engage in serious confrontation at various points in the script, something that the audience can look forward to given the combined acting talent.

Rohini has played Bachchan’s mother before in Agneepath, and this time around is prime antagonist. Ramu says after several rounds of auditioning, Rohini was picked because she carries off the evil streak intrinsic to her character, Rukku Bai, flawlessly.