Actor Rajkummar Rao says working with children for the first time on his upcoming film, Chhalaang, was a great experience, adding that they bring more value to the story.
Directed by Hansal Mehta, the film narrates the story of a PT Master Montu (played by Rajkummar Rao), and addresses the importance of sports education in school curriculum, in a light vien.
“I had a great time with the children on the sets of ‘Chhalaang’, both on camera and off camera. They are the real stars. They were natural, phenomenally talented and have added so much value. Their enthusiasm levels are absolutely commendable, even when the temperature went from extreme heat to winters, these children had the same vigour while shooting and they really inspired all of us,” Rajkummar said.
The film also stars Nushrratt Bharuccha, who will be seen as a computer teacher.
Talking about working with the kids, she said: “Being around children always brings in a sense of nostalgia and ‘Chhalaang’ took me back to my school days. The children we were shooting with were way smarter and naughtier than most of us were at that age and this actually kept us on our toes the whole time. Seeing their bright happy faces every morning was just so adorable!!”
Director Hansal Mehta shared that the children were cast locally from different places like Hisar, Karnal and Gurugram.
“They are very natural with immense potential. Before shooting for ‘Chhalaang’, I had seen an interview of Shekhar Kapur, where he spoke about handling kids during ‘Mr. India’ and ‘Masoom’, and how he got those amazing performances done from them. He said, ‘Set them free’, and that was something that stuck with me. I set them free, they were great fun and that is visible on screen,” Mehta said.
“Chhalaang” is slated to release on Amazon Prime Video on November 13.