Playing a Sardar has suddenly become hip, trendy and macho, so much so that the leading actors of Bollywood are now making a beeline for such roles. Read on to know more about the hottest sardars of B’town.
Ajay Devgan
Movie: Son of Sardar (2012)
The Devgan boy has always been known for his dangerous experiments on-screen. However, it seems that Ajay is now set for an experiment of a different kind. In the upcoming movie Son of Sardar, Ajay will be seen portraying a Sardar.
Ajay who plays the prime protagonist in the movie has already started shooting in his new turbaned Avatar. Devgan, insider sources reveal, has no left no stone unturned in getting his Sardar look and aura right and to-the-point. Here’s wishing Ajay all the very best with his newest experiment.
Ranbir Kapoor
Movie: Rocket Singh (2009)
Hailing from a Punjabi family, playing a Sardar in Rocket Singh did not appear challenging for Ranbir Kapoor. In Ranbir’s own words, he had no idea absolutely that he would be playing a Sardar when the role was narrated to him first.
A dedicated performer, Ranbir refused to use a fake beard and grew a real one instead. It took Ranbir five long weeks to grow the beard. In an interview Ranbir had revealed that his mom and Nani, being Sardarnis themselves, were overwhelmed to see their boy in the Sardar look.
Akshay Kumar
Film: Singh is Kinng (2008)
If playing a Sardar has become a trend in Bollywood, then there is one man who deserves to be credited for triggering the trend- Akshay Kumar. It was Vipul Shah’s Singh is Kinng that gave him the first chance to appear before the audiences in turban and beard.
In the movie, Akki was seen portraying Happy Singh, a village idiot, who in a twist of fate becomes a Mafia kingpin. Very few know that the production team had ordered a diamond studded special designer Pagdi for Akshaye.
Saif Ali Khan
Movie: Love Aaj Kal (2009)
For Saif Ali khan, the film Love Aaj Kal spelt beginning in more ways than one. It was through this movie that Saif played a sardar and donned the hat of producer all for the first time. Saif’s portrayal of a love struck Punjabi lad was praised by the Junta and critics alike.
Kunal Kapoor
Movie: Vijeta (1982)
Throughout the sixties and the seventies, Sardar characters in Hindi movies were a rare phenomenon. Even if a movie did have one, he would be relegated to playing a comedian or a villain.
However, it was Govind Nihalani who changed the trend by putting a Sardar in the lead role of his 1982 movie Vijeta. Kunal Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor’s youngest son, was cast in the role of Angad, a Sikh Air force pilot.
Kunal Kapoor
Movie: Bachna Ae Hasino (2008)
It might not have been a large role, yet the character of Joginder in the 2008 flick Bachna Ae Haseeno was crucial to the movie’s plot. Kunal Kapoor’s Sardar act was kept under wraps very tactfully by the producers until the movie’s release.
Salman Khan
Movie: Heroes (2008)
Salman Khan, who has done very few experiments with looks and characters all through his movie career, surprised audiences by appearing as a Sardar in Heroes.
Samir Karnik’s big budget multi starrer had Salman playing Army major Balkar Singh, a true-to-his-motherland Sardar. But neither Salman’s Sardar act nor the film’s dazzling star cast could save it from meeting a disaster at the Box Office is a different story though.
Eijaz Khan
Movie: Tanu Weds Manu (2011)
Although Eijaz Khan has been around for quiet some time now, it was his portrayal of a Sardar in Tanu Weds Manu that really got the actor noticed. Eijaz mesmerized critics and audiences alike with his brief appearance as a Sardar in the 2011 rom-com.
