Rahul Deshpande expressed varied emotions through his vocal range. The grandson of legendary Hindustani classical vocalist Vasantrao Deshpande, his contribution to Marathi cinema and the music industry is revolutionary.
The audience watching O’ Romeo was pleasantly surprised seeing him in a pivotal role. Rahul plays Inspector Jayant Pathare, one of Jalal’s (Avinash Tiwary) gang members, who is responsible for killing Mehmood (Vikrant Massey), the husband of Afshan (Triptii Dimri). O’ Romeo is his Bollywood debut. In an exclusive interview with Zoom, Rahul opened up about adding quirky notes to Inspector Pathare, a corrupt police officer who is also a trained classical singer.
Rahul Deshpande reveals why he was cast as Inspector Pathare
Talking to Zoom, Rahul said, “Vishal sir decided to make my character quirky. Many actors could have played the role of Pathare, but because of my musical background, he wanted me to do it. The decision to make Inspector Pathare sing amid tense situations was taken before we went on floors. Vishal sir wanted him to be a singer. The songs were chosen to fit each scenario perfectly.”
Rahul Deshpande on shooting with Nana Patekar
Rahul further opened up about shooting an important scene with Nana Patekar and in a Mumbai local train. The actor, who held a gun for the first time, credited Nana for making him comfortable on set. “I never held a gun before and the action director trained me before shooting the sequence. I had Nana Patekar and Shahid Kapoor with me, but my scenes were mostly with the former. He made me comfortable on set and supported me throughout the filming. Nana asked me to focus on his reactions and respond accordingly; the rest he would take care of. In fact, he gave me song suggestions to elevate the sequence’s impact and Vishal sir loved it.”
Rahul Deshpande was unaware of Hussain Ustara and Sapna Didi’s story
O’ Romeo is loosely based on Hussain Ustara and Sapna Didi, drawing inspiration from Hussain Zaidi’s Mafia Queens of Mumbai. Rahul wasn’t aware of their story before working on the film. “When I signed O’ Romeo, I did not know anything about Hussain Ustara’s story. I met Vishal sir, who gave me the script and my character arc. Much later, I learnt about Hussain Ustara and Sapna Didi.”
Hussain Ustara inspires Shahid’s character whereas Triptii’s Afshan is said to be based on Sapna Didi. Avinash Tiwary, the antagonist of the film, is reportedly representing Dawood Ibrahim. O’ Romeo’s cast also includes Farida Jalal, Tamannaah Bhatia and Disha Patani.