Vedang Raina, a Kashmiri Pandit by birth, plays a turbaned Sardar in Applause Entertainment’s Main Waapas Aaunga, which opens in cinemas on 12 June.
Vedang is thrilled by the opportunity to go where actors like Dharmendra (Jeevan Mrityu), Akshay Kumar (Singh Is Kinng) and Sunny Deol (Border) have gone before.
“It is highly flattering to be named along with these legends. I am honoured to be playing a member of community known for its valour and national pride,” says Vedang
Was it tough getting into the turban?
“It took a lot from me. A lot of reading, research, staying in Punjab. I read about the Sikhs and their history. Their culture. The dialect. I had to learn to tie the turban. I must confess I didn’t do a great job with it and luckily I had help during shoot. But I did try to learn it and did a moderately decent job.”
In Imtiaz Ali’s Love Aaj Kal (2009), Saif Ali Khan and Rishi Kapoor, both non- Sikhs, played turbaned Sikh characters.