MUMBAI:Undekhi fans eagerly anticipate the return of Season 3, and with it, the evolution of Ankur Rathee's character, Daman. In preparation for this role, the Shehzada actor delved deep into the intricacies of portraying a character embroiled in crime and moral ambiguity. Ankur spent extensive time understanding the nuances of handling weapons realistically. His dedication even extended to studying various shooting stances and practicing loading and disarming. Apart from the gun scenes, a lot of action sequences entailed learning physical stunts and somersaults.
Ankur Rathee shared, " I have experience with stage combat, but action on screen is a different beast and this season Daman had plenty to do in that respect. To better acquaint myself I spent a lot of time with the gun handlers on set, understanding how each weapon is loaded, cleaned, and fired differently in real life situations. I found myself down a rabbit hole of YouTube videos on various shooting stances and practiced loading and disarming my gun until I could do it in a matter of seconds. I thought I showed up on set "prepared" until my director Ashish was like ‘Kya kar raha tu? Ye Hollywood nahi hai.’ He then proceeded to tell me that the Atwals are not trained killers, they're only practiced killers. He then tilted my gun sideways and showed me to shoot in a way that I'm sure wouldn't hit anything in real life (haha). But that was an important lesson for me. He said, ‘in cinema, the real thing sometimes isn't dramatic enough, in Undekhi we're portraying gang violence, not James Bond’. "
Speaking about his role, Ankur shares insights into Daman's character arc in Season 3, "In Season 2 we saw Daman abandon his black and white view of the world, and really start to explore the moral grey. But this season he runs the risk of being corrupted altogether by the crime and murder surrounding him. Audiences will be met with a more jaded and hardened Daman as opposed to the doe-eyed 'good boy' they were introduced to in Season 1. Daman’s central conflict throughout this franchise has been managing his loyalty between his wife and his family. Like many men, he thinks he can satisfy both parties, despite his best efforts he ends up disappointing both. Many married men struggle with this tug of war, but Daman’s conflicts are heightened as life and death are at stake."
Ankur Rathee is known for his roles in popular shows like Four More Shots Please, Inside Edge, Thappad and Shehzada is gearing up for the release of Undekhi Season 3 on Sony Liv. He is also shooting for a Hollywood project, details of which are under wraps.
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