It’s a monumental character: Sharad Malhotra on playing role of Buxi Jagabandhu in ‘Vidrohi’

Mumbai: Actor Sharad Malhotra has been roped in to play the role of Odisha’s legendary freedom fighter Buxi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar Mohapatra Bhramarbar Ray in a new series namely ‘Vidrohi’, which will be aired on Star Plus and streamed on Disney+ Hotstar.

Malhotra talks about why he was excited to play this character.

He says: “It’s a monumental character. When the character has huge potential, automatically the job of the actor becomes a huge responsibility. An actor is always greedy for good content and a show like ‘Vidrohi’ doesn’t happen every day. But what drew me towards the story was the selflessness of the character ‘Buxi Jagabandhu’ and I wanted the nation to know about this legendary hero from the lands of Odisha.”

Sharad adds more about the show and his role: “It is very exciting to be in a period drama like ‘Vidrohi’. Such a show has its own challenges; one must work hard to ensure that you don’t just embrace the character you are playing, you also have to understand the smaller nuances of the period to deliver an authentic experience. I am super excited to play this character on screen since my role has a lot of variations.”

The historical drama ‘Vidrohi’ will start from October on Star Plus and Disney+ Hotstar.

The trailer of ‘Vidrohi’, which was released by the channel recently, features Buxi Jagabandhu being stopped by the British force from entering the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri. Subsequently, Buxi Jagabandhu’s associates give a befitting reply to the British force by attacking them with bow and arrow.

Notably, the Paikas of Khurda headed by Buxi Jagabandhu had raised their voice against heavy taxation and illegal encroachment of the tax-free lands and restriction on salt by the British Rule.

Buxi Jagabandhu was a great fighter and well adapt in horse-riding, axe-fighting and Guerilla-war.

Starting from the year of 1817, the great Paika revolt ended after a long period of 10 years.

The British Government imprisoned the freedom fighter in Cuttack, where he took his last breath on 24th January, 1829.

(With IANS inputs)