“The responsibility of an artist is to raise questions among people through his work,” said renowned actor Randeep Hooda during a press conference held at Hotel Centre Point, on Tuesday. The actor was in the city to promote his film ‘Swatantrya Veer Savarkar’ based on the life of Indian freedom fighter and activist Vinayak Damodar Savarker, released last week in Hindi and Marathi language. Sandeep Joshi, former Mayor and President of Shri Siddhivinayak Sewa Trust, was also present during the press conference. Randeep Hooda, along with portraying the titular role, has also directed it and is one of the writers and producers of the film. He shared his experience of the challenges and rewards of taking on the multifaceted role of director and lead actor simultaneously. He expressed his passion for bringing the story on the silver screen. “Through my film, I want to let people know Veer Savarkar’s story, which was kept out of sight from everyone for many years. I was working on this film for last two years, and a lot of planning went behind presenting the whole story in three hours,” said Hooda.

 

He highlighted the importance of portraying historical figures to youth. “Through such films, the youth gets to know about many personalities who were part of India’s freedom struggle. Most people know about his Kala Pani ordeal, but most are not aware of the inhuman treatment meted out to Indians in prisons during British colonial period, and the trauma faced by the families left behind,” he said. He also discussed the research he did before shooting the film and while sharing his journey of preparing himself to don the titular role, he said that he lost a lot of body weight to deliver and authentic performance and to justify the complex situations the character was going through in the film. He also thanked the team for their constant dedication and hard work throughout the production.