New Delhi, Actor Aparshakti Khurana says “Berlin” holds a special place in his heart as it allowed him to explore a different facet of his personality.
Khurana on Friday evening attended the opening ceremony of the inaugural Indian Film Festival Germany along with Atul Sabharwal, the director of “Berlin”. The spy thriller is one of over 40 films that will be screened at the three-day film gala.
“Berlin is one of the performances closest to my heart in my filmography so far, mainly because it truly brings out a different side of me as an actor,” the 37-year-old actor said at the festival’s red carpet.
Referring to his movies like “Luka Chuppi”, “Dangal”, and the “Stree” franchise, Khurana said “Berlin” deviates from the “goofy” characters he has previously played. He credited Sabharwal for pushing him to deliver his best performance in the film.
“I think it is the purest filmmaking of Atul Sabarwal that has really brought out the best in me. And the film is a spy thriller and totally shot in India,” he added.
Set in 1990s New Delhi, “Berlin” follows a deaf-mute young man, Ashok Kumar , who is suspected of being a foreign spy.
The case takes a complex turn when a skilled sign language expert, Pushkin Verma , is brought in to interpret. Based on Sabharwal’s short story “The Decipherer”, the film also stars Rahul Bose, Anupriya Goenka, and Deepak Qazir.
Discussing his preparation, Khurana said the role required a unique approach.
“My character does a lot of sign language, which is not something you are born with or you grew up into. It’s not something which is normally taught in school in India and it’s a difficult language to learn as well. So the prep was extremely different from what I’ve done so far in my career,” he added.
The actor also shared his excitement about attending screenings at the festival, particularly for Kanu Behl’s “Despatch”, starring Manoj Bajpayee.
Sabharwal expressed enthusiasm about “Berlin” being screened at the festival, especially given the significance of its title.
“I am very excited to see how the local German audience would respond to it because it has a connection with the history of the city as well,” he said.
“I don’t look at it as a spy thriller because you don’t really see any spies at work. It’s mostly the two amateurs at doing most of the spying in the film and not very well. It’s just the resonance with the history, the period that it shares with the city is what I am quite excited about and how it plays out like a usual thriller,” he added.
Asked about his motivation for making the film, Sabharwal said he has always believed in giving voice to the marginalised.
“A deaf-mute person serves as a metaphor for those who are unheard. That was my primary motivation,” he said.
The Indian Film Festival Germany is organized by the Embassy of India, Berlin, and The Tagore Centre. Billed as a “landmark celebration of contemporary Indian cinema with a growing resonance in Germany”, the festival runs from January 10 to 12.
The film gala will showcase movies like Grand Prix winner “All We Imagine As Light”, Boman Irani’s “The Mehta Boys”, “Girls Will Be Girls”, “Gulmohar” and Shekhar Kapur’s 1983 classic “Masoom”.
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