I Am What I Am Till Today Because I Am A Body Double Of SRK, Prashant Walde

Shah Rukh Khan's Body Double turned producer PRASHANT WALDE tells JYOTHI VENKATESH in this exclusive telephonic interview for bollyy.com and Mayapuri

Tell me something about your debut film as a producer and actor- Premaatur?

Premaatur is a love horror suspense thriller; the concept of which has not at all been seen till date in Indian Cinema. It is not a biopic of SRK.

I have made the film in a span of 25 days on a very low budget. For the last fifteen years, I have earned by bread and lived my life only because of Shah Rukh Khan as I am not only his body double, but also his lookalike and have acted in around twenty films and 400 commercial ads.

He is one actor in Bollywood who has elevated Bollywood to the level of Hollywood with his passion and zeal and inspired several fans including me

Have you only produced the film and also acted in it?

Besides writing the story of the film and screenplay as well as the dialogues, I have also produced the film with my friend Shantanu Ghosh, Satya and my brother Praveen Walde and co-directed it with Sumit Sagar, who is my friend who is making his debut as a director with Premaatur.

My wife is an actress who has played the title role in the TV serial Jai Bajrang Bali and it was on her suggestion that I asked him to direct my film Premaatur.

What is the star cast of your film? What is your film all about?

Premaatur revolves around Rahul and Soniya, where Soniya gets possessed by supernatural powers.

Rahul goes to extreme lengths to fight against the demon and save her. Will he be able to free Soniya from the evil spirit?

This forms the crux of the plot of my film that stars myself in the lead, as Arjun, Heta Shah as Pooja, Kalyani Kumari as Sonia, Sriraj Singh as Rahul, Amit Sinha as Baba and last but not the least Veer Singh as Dinu Kaka and Bidya Kumari as Babli

With which SRK starrer did you make your bow in films?

It was with his film Om Shanti Om that I made my debut in films first. The last film in which I would be seen with him will be Bhramastra.

What are the advantages as well as disadvantages of being a body double of a super star?

Besides being body double of a super star is that I am also an ardent fan of Shah Rukh Khan the super star.

I consider him my inspiration because it is his dedication and inspiration that have made him undoubtedly the King Khan of Bollywood today.

I am fully aware of the fact that if only I had not worked with him, I would not have gained experience of working in the film industry for the last 15 years.

I consider him as my Godfather and hence I have dedicated my film to him. I may just remain a shadow of a super star like SRK now but I cannot forget that I have been not only able to earn but also learn a lot by being the body double of a superstar like SRK.

Is your film going to be streamed from any OTT platform?

Yes. My film will be streamed on a new OTT platform because today big OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video opt to buy only films which star big stars and not rank newcomers

Why did you set out to turn a producer?

I know that I can survive as a body double only for a few more years because I can get work only as long as Shah Rukh Khan is in demand.

What will happen after SRK is no longer a super star? I do not want to remain just a body double or a lookalike of SRK all my life and want to not only carve my own niche in Bollywood on my own but also look after my family in future too, as I am not alone and have to think of my future too.

At least the super stars have a side business even after they lose their stardom but I have nothing to depend upon as and when I do not get offers to play the lookalike of SRK or for that matter his body double.

Have you told Shah Rukh Khan about your film or held a trial show to show the film to him?

I have neither told SRK Sir that I have produced the film nor have I held a trial of my film for him but the film to his personal assistant who asked me if I have made a C grade film with Kanti Shah as the director.

However when I showed him the trailer of my film, he sat on the edge of the seat and praised me for making a film which he has predicted will be surely successful