Mumbai Sep 30 PTI Actor Vicky Kaushal on Thursday said playing the titular role in Sardar Udham was a tough nut to crack but growing up listening to the stories about the patriot he felt a deep connection with his on-screen characterHelmed by Shoojit Sircar the upcoming film is a biopic on the lesser-known story of freedom fighter Sardar Udham Singh who assassinated Michael ODwyer the former Lieutenant Governor of Punjab in British India in 1940 to avenge the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacreDuring the trailer launch of the film Kaushal said Sardar Udham Singh was one of those freedom fighters of the country who got lost in the history booksWhen you go back to our history books they get lost in a line paragraph or a page in the book Sardar Udham Singh was probably that one line paragraph or a page in the bookBut because I had heard his stories from my grandparents and parents there was always this connect straight from my core where I related to that man I related to his angst Kaushal told reporters hereThe Uri star said the Jallianwala Bagh massacre was a shocking episode which hit home in the most brutal wayCalling Sardar Udham a story of courage Kaushal said he wanted to challenge himself with this roleA person who had taken a note to avenge that bloodshed not in India but by crossing borders 100 years ago went to the heart of the British empire For me it is a story of resilience bravery patience and a passionate personThrough this film I wanted to explore that factor in me also Its not the most easy role to touch Its also a character that isnt widely documented in our history books the 33-year-old actor saidWritten by Ritesh Shah and Shubhendu Bhattacharya the film is scheduled to be released on Amazon Prime Video on October 16Kaushal said there was such dearth of published material on the freedom fighter that his only approach to build the character was to rely completely on SircarThe actor said if one attempts to read books on Sardar Udham Singh they would find different stories about the same personYoull find different names identities and faces How do you tap into what was the core of the person The only way to play this part was to completely surrender to Shoojits visionThe more I heard him I realised that the way he understands that era the way he studied the freedom struggle Sardar Udham Singh Shaheed Bhagat Singh Ive never met anyone like him he addedProduced by Ronnie Lahiri and Sheel Kumar the film also stars Banita Sandhu and Amol Parashar PTI JUR RDS RDS

Mumbai Sep 30 PTI Director Shoojit Sircar on Thursday said he does not view opting for a digital release for his upcoming feature Sardar Udham as a mistake because the decision was taken keeping in mind the best interest of the filmHeadlined by Vicky Kaushal the film is gearing up to be released on Amazon Prime Video on October 16Sardar Udham which was completed in 2019 was earlier expected to release theatricallyDuring the trailer launch of the film Sircar was asked if he feels he could have waited longer for cinema halls to reopen so that the movie could have had a big screen releaseIts a tricky question Theres a destiny for every film and Sardar Udham landed on Amazon Prime When I shot the film this wasnt the situation We shot the film for cinemasI do not feel guilty that its releasing on a digital platform We decided that this will go on the digital platform I didnt feel that this was a mistake I was making the filmmaker told reportersThe Maharashtra government recently allowed cinema halls in the state a prime market for Bollywood films to resume operations from October 22Last year during the coronavirus pandemic-induced nationwide lockdown which resulted in cinema halls being shut across the country Sircars Gulabo Sitabo was one of the first films to head to the OTT platformStarring Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana the film also premiered on Amazon Prime Video in JuneThe filmmaker said he is impatient and wants to showcase his work to the audience as quickly as possible which is why both Gulabo Sitabo and Sardar Udham didnt wait for the reopening of cinema hallsWhat I also experienced after Gulabo Sitabo was the reach the film got I thought this film Sardar Udham also needs a huge global platform apart from our Indian territories That was also a good reason for me to go aheadYes the cinematic experience of a theatre will be surely missed but it is not a compromise on the cinematic narrative Itll be as cinematic on a big screen as it is on a small screen Sircar addedThe film is a biopic on freedom fighter Sardar Udham Singh who assassinated Michael ODwyer the former Lieutenant Governor of Punjab in British India in 1940 to avenge the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacreThe Amazon original movie penned by Ritesh Shah and Shubhendu Bhattacharya is produced by Ronnie Lahiri and Sheel Kumar PTI JUR RDS RDS