Release Of Mission Mangal To Coincide With 45 Years In Bollywood For Dalip Tahil

Jyothi Venkatesh

The release of Akshay Kumar starrer ‘Mission Mangal’ on August 15 coincides with a significant milestone for Dalip Tahil who essays the role of an antagonist in the film. Tahil, who debuted in 1974 in Shyam Benegal’s Ankur has acted in over two hundred movies and has witnessed the changing landscape of Hindi cinema first hand. In Mission Mangal, Tahil plays the role of a renowned NASA scientist who has been called to India for offering his expertise on ISRO’s Mangalyaan project. A senior scientist who has overlooked the launch of many space satellites through his career, his character has a traditional bent of mind which finds Akshay Kumar’s – the protagonist’s non-conventional ideas edgy making him discourage the team’s attempt to experiment with the non-tested ways for launching the rocket.

“It has been an exciting journey. It also has been a journey from the bullock cart to the rocket. If various shots in Ankur were taken in a bullock cart, in Mission Mangal it was all about rockets and space,” says the veteran actor. “Much has changed in Bollywood since my debut. But so much has also remained the same.”

From Ankur he went on to act in over two hundred movies which included a notable performance in Shaan (1980), a cameo in Sir Richard Attenborough's Gandhi in 1982 and the unrelenting Dhanraj Singh in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak in 1988. His villainous role as Madan Chopra in Baazigar (1993) will perhaps remain one of the memorable ones from the 90s. Through the 80s he also featured in quite a few TV serials with principal roles in Sanjay Khan’s – The Sword of Tipu Sultan and Ramesh Sippy’s – Buniyaad. Later in his career he gained tremendous popularity playing the part of Dan Ferreira in UK’s iconic show – East Enders aired on BBC One, Andrew Lloyd’s theatrical musical– Bombay Dreams staged in London and Kaho Na...Pyaar Hai. More recently he played the role of King Dashrath in the Indian TV series – Siya Ke Ram on Star Plus in 2015 and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag in 2013.

“Working with Akshay has always been a pleasure and I am really glad that we got to work together again in Mission Mangal. However, the thing that really baffled me was the set. It was created to look almost exactly like the ISRO control room and I remember, as soon as I stepped foot in it, I felt like I was transported to another world. It was just brilliant! While to a layman such eye for detail in building a set may not mean much but to an actor, it can mean everything,” concludes Tahil.

Dalip Tahil began his career on stage back in 1968 when he joined the Theatre Group Bombay and since then has worked in television, radio, web-series and films.

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Tags: Bollywood, Bollywood News, Bollywood Updates, Television, Telly News, Mission Mangal, Dalip Tahil