Veteran actor Puneet Issar’s son, Siddhant Issar, who has played Lord Rama and Krishna on Broadway said that makers should not alter the quintessential image of iconic characters in the name of cinematic liberty.
Mythological shows and movies based on Indian epics come with great responsibility. One can achieve visual appeal with a huge budget and advanced VFX but we shouldn’t play with people’s sentiments. This is what Siddhant Issar said while talking about his new stint with Colors’ popular show Shiv Shakti: Tap Tyaag Tandav.
Siddhant is the son of veteran actor, director, and producer Puneet Issar. Siddhant father has earned immense popularity as Duryodhana in BR Chopra’s series Mahabharat. Even at the age of 63, Puneet is playing the role fo Raavan to perfection. Siddhant is also well-versed in adapting Indian epics and he has played Lord Rama and Krishna on Broadway. In Shiv Shakti, Siddhant will play the evil asur Tarakasur, and he joined DNA India for an exclusive interaction talking about his character, and why Prabhas-starrer Adipurush failed.
Sharing his views on the challenges while working on a mythological show, Siddhant said, “Story-telling is in two ways- form-based and script based. The form consists of VFX, sets, costumes, and the background score. This will elevate your story and visual appeal. But then there is your basic, simple story-telling, like a script. A mixture and perfect balance of both is a must when we adopt an Indian epic on celluloid.” Siddhant further added that Adipursh lacked good story-telling, “Agar sirf VFX ke basis pe film chal sakti, toh maybe Adipurush would have done well. But aaj bhi hum purani Ramayan (Ramanand Sagar) dekhte hai. Toh ek reason hai ki hume dekh ke maza aata hai.”
Decoding the failure of the highly-anticipated Ramayana’s cinematic adaptation Siddhant said, “Aaj I have an advantage playing Tarakasur with advanced VFX, but that doesn’t mean that I will get away if I act badly, dialogue galat bolu, and looked misfit for the part.” Issar further added that makers shouldn’t have taken cinematic liberty in altering the depiction of celebrated idols and iconic characters. “Ek jo pre-concived notion hota hai logo ka, aap usse badal nahi sakte ho. Aap logo ki dharmik aastha hai uske saath khilwaad nahi kar sakte. So you have to join your hands and maintain the respect of the source material.” Siddhant concluded, “Aap entertainment do, lekin ek quintessential image jo hai… usse kharab mat karo.”
