Saif Ali Khan shares how he prepared Sanskrit for his role in Tandav

With the recent trailer reveal, Saif Ali Khan has already surprised viewers with his bold, vulnerable, and charismatic character in the upcoming Amazon Original Series Tandav. 

The exciting 3-minute trailer with 25M+ views has already hooked the audiences and left them eagerly waiting for the show’s premiere to witness the first of its kind Indian political thriller. 

Created by Ali Abbas Zafar, Tandav will see Saif in a multi-layered, never seen before character. The actor recently revealed some lesser-known details about his character in the show and the challenges he faced while ensuring a gripping performance. 
 

Saif Ali Khan said, “There were various influences that come into how you do something and prepare for a particular character. My character is a politician who tends to talk a lot in public places, and so there were a lot of Sanskrit-ized Hindi speeches that I had to prepare for Samar’s character. The fun fact here is – I absolutely love speaking Sanskrit. At times we have a heavy shooting day and there are times when we have a lighter day. In this show, I had to speak almost 4 Sanskrit speeches every day. So, I had to learn a lot of heavy-duty lines to perfect this role.”

On playing a grey shaded character in the show, Saif recalled, “I have done quite a few roles with grey shaded characters and I have thoroughly enjoyed them. Rather than playing milky-white character, I do find this more interesting and experimental. I am glad that I am able to play Samar’s character- vulnerable, fierce, authoritative and kind. It is like channeling a different part of your energy. Moreover, I don’t think playing a politician’s character is risky at all. Tandav is not a documentary, it a fictional account. 

Produced by Himanshu Kishan Mehra and Ali Abbas Zafar, the 9-episode political drama features a strong ensemble cast including Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Sunil Grover, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Dino Morea Kumud Mishra, Gauahar Khan, Amyra Dastur, Mohd. Zeeshan Ayyub, Kritika Kamra, Sarah Jane Dias, Sandhya Mridul, Annup Sonii, Hitten Ttejwani, Paresh Pahuja and Shonali Nagrani among others. 

Tandav will premiere on January 15, 2021 and will be available for Prime members in India and in more than 240 countries and territories.