Vikramaditya Motwane’s Udaan, which completed 14 years not only changed the source of Ronit Roy’s career, it also caused him serious physical injuries.
Recalls Ronit, “The end race, the climactic sprint, was shot over three, four days in Jamshedpur. And on the first day itself, I tore my thigh muscle very badly. It was so bad that I couldn’t even walk. But you know, even after that, we shot for four days because we had to finish the sequences. There was, after every shot, kgs of ice used to be put on my thigh to numb it, painkillers, etc, etc. So, physical challenges were of that level.Thenn the boy my screen son(Rajan Barmecha) leaving the house scene, when he punches me, he landed a punch on my nose. My nose cracked in three parts. I went to the hospital, I went back, I finished the scene, you know, with a bleeding nose. And then of course, when it healed, we finished the film. So, like I said, there were challenges on multiple levels. Of course, there were mental challenges also to do the role, to deliver performances the way Vikramaditya wanted it.”
Being a gentle father in real life it wasn’t easy for Ronit to verbally and physically assault his screen son. “As far as the character was concerned, I mean, I’m obviously not like that in real life. I’m completely opposite. I’ve never yelled at my children also. But no, no, no real mental agony or anything like that. You know, just I guess an actor, I’m that kind of an actor when I’m in a role, I’m in a role. So, I don’t really think about it.”
Udaan was a breakthrough film for many people on many levels and so for me too. Udaan made a lot of industry people and critics sit up and take serious notice of me. It felt so good for my performance to be appreciated by some top filmmakers and critics alike.
Ronit says Udaan opened new doors in his career. “Udaan was the crossover to the next level as an actor for me.I’m happy that that respect has now grown over the years. Udaan was pretty much the switchover for me from television to the big screen. Also being officially nominated at Cannes and waking the red carpet with the team of Udaan is an unforgettable episode of my life.When we were shooting it, there were many hurdles to cross and all of them were very difficult. It was a film that was made on a shoestring budget. So, there were a lot of challenges that had to be met. Of course, we met them effectively.”
Ronit is often pitched against actors, superstar, who don’t have an iota of his talent. “Yeah, Subhashji, a lot of people, you know, many, many pieces of work that I’ve done, the audience has told me that you were so much better. But that’s not the way I think. I never think about what and how much the other person is doing and what his strategy is and what her strategy is. I just go out there, do my job. My job is to, you know, understand what the director wants. And then, you know, I have a certain race with myself. And, you know, I’m not happy, never happy with 100%. So, I’m always looking for that, you know, little level up in my performances, you know, those little things that haven’t been done before or, you know, those areas in a role that has been done a lot of times, but those areas that in those roles that haven’t been explored. So, I try and bring that to the table. I do my job, I go home, and then what happens, happens. So, I don’t really think of, you know, this, I quote, stealing the thunder and all those things. I’m a simple person, I think in a very simple way. And that’s about it. But seriously…… I am now waiting for my next Udaan to come .Heard this line years ago and it has stuck to me and I quote ‘Is parinde main ab bhi jaan baaki hai Ab bhi Kayee Udaan baaki hai’.
Ronit has one only one regret. “I miss my regular conversations with Lataji. It was probably one of the biggest things in my life for Lataji, you know, to be a fan of my show Adaalat and to have her calls coming. She would call me in the evenings, even while I was shooting , and then the whole shoot would stop because I mean, there was no way I was not picking up her calls. She would have long conversations with me 20 minutes, 25 minutes, 30 minutes. And she would also text me. So, one day, I told her, I said, ‘Lata ji, please don’t text me again. Lata ji, you know, you are Lata Didi. And, you know, don’t text me, please send me messages in your voice. So, from that day, then, you know, she started sending me voice messages. And it was so beautiful. She would send me gifts. During COVID, she sent me gifts and it was just beautiful. And I think of her probably once every week.You know, it’s just, I miss her so much. I miss her so much.”