Bollywood Hungama

EXCLUSIVE: Pratap director Sachin Saraf breaks silence on CLASH with Sunny Deols Soorya: We cannot even imagine clashing with a LEGEND like him; reveals whether Amit Sadh-starrer is inspired by Sachin Waze: He is not the only cop to be jailed

The trailer of Pratap, starring Amit Sadh in and as Pratap and hes joined by Esha Deol, Seema Biswas, Milind Gunaji, Tigmanshu Dhulia and others, has caught attention thanks to its intriguing subject, mass appeal and impressive ensemble cast. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Pratap director Sachin Saraf opened up about the response to the film's asset, Amit Sadhs preparation for the role and a lot more. Pratap's trailer has come as a surprise. How has the feedback been? Excellent. We were hoping for a good response, but we were overwhelmed by the calls and messages. Hence, I believe that the trailer has connected with the audience. They have got a sense of the films feel and mood, and now I hope they watch it in theatres. At the trailer launch, parallels were drawn with Ab Tak Chhappan (2004). However, since Pratap is the story of an encounter specialist who goes to jail, one can't help but draw parallels with Sachin Waze. Your thoughts? Yes, after watching the trailer, many people asked me this question. Its interesting that you are also mentioning it. But frankly, Sachin Waze is not the only officer who has been jailed. Unfortunately, there are many other police officers who have gone behind bars for one reason or another. His case is still fresh in people's minds, and I believe thats why these parallels are being drawn. However, when audiences watch the film, they will realize that the story is not about one person. It's about what happens when a powerful person loses his position. That powerful person could be anyone, from any profession. Amit Sadh looks apt for the part. We see him losing his mind towards the end of the trailer. How did he prepare for the role? Its part of the narrative arc. During our research, we came across documentary footage of prisoners held in isolation in US jails. After speaking to Indian jail officers, we realized that isolation and separation from family can take a toll on even the strongest of prisoners. Amit created his own graph of mental anguish and its progression. He carefully built it up like a musical crescendo as we show time passing inside the jail. What you see in the trailer is just a glimpse of a brilliant performance by a brilliant actor. Pratap was earlier titled Main. When did the title change take place, and what was the reason behind it? Main was the original title of the script, as the story revolves around an individual and his mind games. Unfortunately, that title was registered with someone else. As a result, we changed the title and added the tagline, This time, the target is within. Pratap clashes with Soorya, starring Sunny Deol, who is incidentally related to Esha Deol. Soorya also looks like a mass-appealing film, just like Pratap. What made the producers lock this particular release date? We are all big fans of Sunny sir. In fact, I have assisted on three of his films. But this clash was not planned. We had no idea that his film was also releasing on the same date. Our team had prepared a release plan after considering the most appropriate date for our film. So, we are sticking to that plan. Sunny sir is a legend and a superstar. We cannot even imagine clashing with a legend like him. But I think both films will find their audiences, and people will love both movies. Also Read: Pratap: Amit Sadh starrer gets a custom-built jail set in Bhopal to recreate the films prison world