‘I was destined to portray Baba Ramdev’
Ahighly spiritual individual in real life, actor Kranti Prakash Jha has recently embarked on his journey as Swami Ramdev in his new show, Swami Ramdev: Ek Sangharsh. Stemming from humble beginnings, Kranti has worked his way up, starting with playing Santosh Lal in M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016) and is also known for his lead role in the National Award-winning Maithali film, Mithila Makhaan (2017).
Initially rejected for the role of Swami Ramdev in the television series, Kranti started preparing for his UPSC exams when the opportunity came again. “I believe in the power of destiny, it’s almost as though I was always meant to play the role. When I first auditioned for the role I was rejected, but later on, the actor who was selected backed out, and I was confirmed. God obviously had other plans for me. You know what they say, ‘man proposes, God disposes’,” says Kranti.
While preparing for his role in the series, the actor visited Swami Ramdev in Haridwar, where he was asked to prove his language skills as well as his ability to practice yoga, to him. “I know Sanskrit well as I grew up learning the language. The yoga took some time to get used to, but I have got the hang of it now. I was extremely influenced by Swamiji in those five days. He ignited an internal change in me,” says Kranti.
To fit into the role, he even started wearing dhotis and upvastras (a cloth worn loosely around the shoulders) at home, and practising yoga extensively, he also grew accustomed to the khadaun— a wooden slipper of sorts, which can initially be painful to wear. The pair he wears was gifted to him by Swami Ramdev himself.
Alanguage enthusiast, Kranti Prakash Jha knows four languages from his home in Bihar and loves to converse in Hindi whenever possible. “When I speak in Hindi, I feel like I’m paying a tribute to my father, who was a writer and a bureaucrat. Whenever we spoke to each other, it was always in purest Hindi. I feel that Hindi has lost its importance these days due to the widespread reach of English, but my strong command over Hindi has definitely helped me with the show and has allowed me to reach out to the masses,” says Kranti.
The actor finished his graduation and postgraduation from Hindu College, Delhi University, and aspires to someday work with some of its noted alumni. “I would love to work with my seniors from the college such as Imtiaz Ali, Vishal Bhardwaj and Abhishek Chaubey. I also want to work with directors such as Karan Johar and Rajkumar Hirani. One dream I have is to someday share screen space with Amitabh Bachchan sir,” the actor says.
Kranti credits God and his mother for all his success. “My mother is my greatest pillar of support and I always look to her for encouragement. Of course, the support from my friends and family has also helped me through,” he says. The actor has a few projects lined up, including a biographic web series based on hockey legend, Harendra Singh. Kranti is also going to play a negative lead in a movie releasing later this year.