Kranti Prakash Jha has won appreciation for his portrayal of Kasturi in Prakash Jha’s Sankalp. For the actor, being part of the show was more than just another acting opportunity. Coming from Bihar and having grown up watching Prakash Jha’s acclaimed films, working with the filmmaker marked a deeply personal and memorable moment in his journey.
Recalling the moment he got the opportunity to meet Prakash Jha and eventually became a part of Sankalp, Kranti Prakash Jha shared how surreal the entire experience felt, especially after admiring the filmmaker’s work since childhood. He said, “I really enjoyed working on it. For me, it was like a dream. Every artist from Bihar who comes to Mumbai, for them, working with Prakash Jha sir is like a dream. So I had that dream too. Gangaajal, Aarakshan, all of these films, we must have watched them on video, VCPs and all, during our childhood. Ever since then, you suddenly get a phone call saying, ‘Brother, would you like to meet someone?’ So you… because for fifteen years, I had not been able to go to the other side of that door. In the sense that I had not been able to meet him. People would meet him when casting happened. But thanks to Disha Jha, Disha Jha, who is the producer of the show and is his daughter, I got a phone call from her saying, ‘Kranti ji, sir wants to meet you once.’ I said, ‘Are you sure you are saying this? Sir wants to meet me?’ Because for me, it was like a dream, you know. It was like a child’s dream coming true. Like a child receiving a trophy or some toy.
So I said, ‘When?’ I went, touched sir’s feet and greeted him. Sir looked at me and said, ‘So, you’ve been told about Kasturi, right?’ I said, ‘Yes, sir, Kasturi.’
What happens is that when people come from Bihar, or when you are from there, and there is someone senior sitting in front of you, your body language automatically becomes like this. You kind of shrink into yourself. Because you don’t know… because in front of you, you see a guru, you see a father, you see an elder brother. Suddenly, you don’t sit like this. So, even today, whenever I meet him, I meet him like this. Because it is automatically a part of my body language. I cannot do anything about it. That is the respect. The respect that our parents have taught us.
So, for me, it was like a dream. The first scene was a very dangerous scene, where Kasturi was punished.”
With Sankalp, Kranti Prakash Jha gets the opportunity to collaborate with a filmmaker whose work has been a part of his cinematic journey since childhood. His portrayal of Kasturi brings him into the world of the show while making the association with Prakash Jha especially meaningful for the actor.