Ex-Indian pacer Venkatesh Prasad to make acting debut with Kannada film 'Sachin Tendulkar Alla'

Venkatesh Prasad, Indian Cricket Player and medium-pacer with Sachin Tendulkar at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, Karnataka, India.

Retired Indian pacer Venkatesh Prasad will be making his cinematic debut in an upcoming Kannada movie titled ‘Sachin Tendulkar Alla’ and in a recent interview with TOI, he talks about his experiences while making the movie.

“When [actress] Suhasini - we are family friends - was approached for a role in the film, she suggested my name for the coach's character. That's how it all happened,” said the 44-year-old. “Frankly, when [director] Mohan initially spoke to me, I was extremely reluctant. It was not just a cameo, but almost a full length role. And I needed to act. As a cricketer, I am only good on the pitch and not on the silver screen because it requires different type of skills. But somehow, Mohan persisted and I relented. He convinced me saying, `You just need to do what you do on the field before camera as well'. Still, I was n't convinced, but it happened. Mohan has done an outstanding job to extract the best out of me. Let me repeat, I took up the offer only because of Suhasini.”

Unlike other cricketers who have had a minor role to play in earlier films, this movie revolves around Prasad and the kid he coaches, an autistic boy who wishes to be like Sachin Tendulkar and play for India. The movie can be seen on theatres this summer in Telugu and Kannada.

When asked about the shoot, he said, “As I said, if I have done anything worth mentioning in the film, it's because of Mohan [Director Mohan Shankar]. It was all new to me: the makeup, rehearsing dialogues and the rest of the action. Making me extremely comfortable on the sets, he would cheer me up every single time. I don't even know if he really meant the praises he showered upon me, but everybody felt the ‘delivery' was good.

Prasad emphasised on the influence of Mohan Shankar, and agreed that dubbing for his own role in Kannada was a tough ask. “If I have to hear myself, I feel strange and always wonder if it is me speaking. For every dialogue, every sentence, Mohan was very appreciative. Perhaps, to make things easier for me, he didn't really give me long dialogues so that I need not mug it up. You have to have the expression and emotion even during dubbing. But I think the challenging part was getting the pronunciation right. I am a Kannadiga, but to say the dialogues in Kannada and get the accent right was a bit difficult. In the last 10-15 years, I did a lot of speaking in English for commentaries and studio shows. Even on the field, it's either English or Hindi. I thought that `touch' was missing and that was a bit challenging,” he said.

“I grew up watching Suhasini's films. And Bhandana is my favourite Suhasini film,” he spoke about sharing screen space with Suhasini. “Sudha Rani too is someone I would watch in Kannada and other languages. So, acting with them was special.”

On coaching a physically disabled child on screen, Prasad says he has never faced a similar real-life experience. “I have not really come across a situation like that. I have worked with a lot of NGOs who deal with special kids. This case is different. The movie's concept is strong and the message is clear that we need to treat everyone equally. In the film, we are talking about an autistic kid and Snehit has done a fantastic job.”

Prasad, however, insisting that cricket is still his first priority, and he would take up more film offers only if it interests him. He said, “I would come down only during long breaks. Cricket is the biggest priority for me. I am looking at climbing higher in terms of my coaching career. I don't want to sound like actors who say if the star cast is good or the script is good' or anything like that. I don't want to really close that window, but my top priority is cricket.”