Bipin Bhosale of Sacred Games was originally offered Katekar’s part in the series

You might remember him as the evil coach in Dangal, who locks up Aamir Khan in a room in the climax scene, or for playing the part of a devious cop in Kaabil and creating troubles for Hrithik Roshan and Yami Gautam’s characters. However, actor Girish Kulkarni has moved on from that and delivered yet another brilliant performance as the cunning home minister Bipin Bhosale in the web series, Sacred Games.

He reveals to us some surprising bits about what went on behind-the-scenes. “Originally, I was supposed to play Katekar, who is Sartaj’s [character played by Saif Ali Khan] best friend in the show. But I politely declined it, and told them to give me something different. Then they came up with Bhosale’s role. I really wanted a character that would figure in both Sartaj and Ganesh Gaitonde’s (played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui) world. I wanted to work with both the directors, Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane,” he says.

What everyone is keen to know is who directed which part. “Sartaj’s part was directed by Vikramaditya, and Nawaz’s scenes were shot by Anurag. Both are maverick directors, and different in their styles and approach. The way you do a scene with one is very different from how another does it.”

Elaborating on the starkly different working styles of both the filmmakers, Girish says, “Anurag goes with the flow, and allows his actors to explore and improvise on spot. Actually, improvise is a small word. He would go through everything, right from the costumes to the getup,to the locations. Vikram, meanwhile, was very methodical. He would rehearse everything, and achieve whatever he wants to.”

Sacred Games is based on the novel by the same name, written by Vikram Chandra. Did Girish read the book before filming started? “Not really. I did have that in mind, but we were told not to read it by both the directors, and quite rightly so. It was obviously an adaptation. Reading the book wouldn’t have mattered or even affected anything,” says the actor, who will also be seen next in Fanney Khan, with Anil Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

I politely declined it, and told them to give me something different. I wanted a character that would figure in both Sartaj and Ganesh Gaitonde’s world. GIRISH KULKARNI ACTOR

Girish Kulkarni plays the role of the cunning home minister in the web series