'Bharat': Salman used to spend 5 hours daily on prosthetics
Salman Khan's Bharat has him portraying five looks in the entire duration. One of them is a salt and pepper look, a poster of which was released in April. Needless to say, it created waves, as this is the first time the actor was sporting such a sombre look. But, did you know he used to put in 5 hours everyday to perfect that look?
'Bharat' director lauds Salman's patience though process was 'tedious'
Bharat's director Ali Abbas Zafar, in a recent interview, revealed that Salman would take two-and-a-half hours to get ready for his scenes of the older stages, and as much time to remove it. However, he was cooperative, since he understood it was the need of the script, said Zafar. "It's a very tedious process, but he would be patient," added the 37-year-old director.
'He was very supportive about the idea and the process'
"After the narration, he understood that not only did the script demand it, but this look is also very significant in keeping with his character graph. He was very supportive about the idea and the process," said Zafar, who has done Sultan and Tiger Zinda Hai with Salman. He added that Salman tried "over 20 different kinds of beards and moustaches for this look."
Salman tried over 20 different beards, mustaches for old look
"The prosthetics were designed by a UK-based company and executed with Indian make-up artistes. SK sir also tried over 20 different kinds of beards and moustaches for this look," said Zafar. It should also be noted that Salman was advised in 2011 against using prosthetics and doing dangerous stunts. This was due to his neurological condition - Trigeminal neuralgia, for which he underwent surgery.
What is Trigeminal neuralgia, the condition Salman was suffering from?
Trigeminal neuralgia is a chronic pain condition that affects the trigeminal nerve, which carries sensation from your face to your brain. If you have trigeminal neuralgia, even mild stimulation of your face, such as from brushing your teeth or putting on makeup, may trigger a jolt of excruciating pain. So Salman was asked not to use prosthetics, as his skin needs to breathe.
For 'Bharat,' Salman worked harder than he did in 'Sultan'
This was the reason why special care was taken to enable Salman sport the old look without much difficulty. Even Salman had acknowledged that for Bharat, he had to work 10 times harder than for any other film. Citing Sultan, the 53-year-old said, "The amount of work that went into Bharat is 10 times more than what I put in any other film."
'Earlier, losing/gaining weight was easier, but now, naturally it's tougher'
"Because you need to lose weight to look a certain way and then you need to put on that weight. And all this always has to be done in a short span of time. Earlier, it was easier, but now, naturally it's tougher," Salman highlighted.
Katrina's Kumud Raina was offered to Priyanka Chopra earlier
Bharat, apart from Salman, also stars Katrina Kaif as Kumud Raina, which initially was offered to Priyanka Chopra. Had Priyanka not walked out, it would have marked her Bollywood comeback, which she is now doing with Shonali Bose's The Sky is Pink, opposite Farhan Akhtar. Sunil Grover, Nora Fatehi, Disha Patani, Tabu, Jackie Shroff and Sonali Kulkarni are the other actors in Bharat.
'Bharat' releases on the day of India's first WC match
Bharat releases on June 5, the very day when India has its first match in the ICC World cup against South Africa. Won't it affect the film's chances at the box-office? Producer Atul Agnihotri pointed out, "Nowadays, people have access to new information on the phone every 5 minutes. I am also a cricket fan but a movie buff is a movie buff."
'Cricket, Bollywood are religion in India, so it'll be fine'
"We've an intended Eid release and we're catering to the audience who look forward to that. Both cricket and Bollywood are religion in India, so it'll be fine. If Bharat works as per what we have thought, it will definitely pass every test," Agnihotri added.
