Raj Arjun on playing Sai Baba: I have done enough roles to receive hatred; it was time I did something to receive love

Raj Arjun, who made a mark with ‘Secret Superstar’, is all set to portray the role of Sai Baba in an upcoming MX player series, ‘Sabka Sai’. ETimes got in touch with the actor who revealed why he chose to be a part of the series, the prep work that went into the role, and more. Excerpts:
‘Sabka Sai’ looks quite promising. How did you come on board for the series?
Honestly, I don't know what was going on in my life.I was just going with the flow and taking up whatever was coming my way. I was looking for interesting and exciting projects but I had no clue that somebody would offer me this spiritually enlightening personality. Brijesh Khanna has seen my earlier works; he must have visualised me in Sai’s role. I must tell you, I was offered to play Sai Baba’s role twice before this in two months but I didn’t take it up because I was not ready, spiritually. I was playing different characters by getting into different zones.
I wanted to explore new zones but I needed time. I thought I would establish myself in one zone first and then think about another one. But then when I went through the script, I absolutely loved it because it had touched some aspects of Sai’s life that had never been explored before. Personally, I believed that he was an enlightened personality who used to care about others and do good to others. I used to visit Shirdi for the same reason. However, I did not know anything else about his life.

I thought it would be an honour to go through so many experiences of Baba’s life in my one lifetime through the series, so I took up the offer. I have done enough roles to receive hatred, abuse, and negativity. I thought it was time I did something to receive love. Although I have taken the hatred and abuse as a compliment to the actor in me, I also feel that the other aspects of my actor personality should also receive equal praise. I feel blessed to be a part of this project. I have not chosen to play ‘Sai’, he has chosen me.
How did you prepare for the role?
The moment I am on board a project, my homework starts. It doesn’t matter if I have received the script or not, I start my prep work. The character starts living with me throughout. I go through the script multiple times and make notes. I approach the character on a different level every time and in the process, I explore myself too. For my character ‘Farookh’ in ‘Secret Superstar’, I used to have non-veg food and had gained weight, but for this role, I used to have one meal a day and slept on a mat in my room. I put up many pictures of Sai across the wall in my house. Contrary to my other roles, I did not work on my speech and body language for this one.

Given the kind of times we are living in right now, where people often take offence over religious content, were you skeptical before taking up this role?
If the story and the character I am playing touches my heart, I don’t think much before taking it up. Some people will like you, others will not. You cannot keep thinking about everybody. It all depends on your perception. I believed in the philosophies preached by Sai Baba and I was going to do nothing that would go against that, so there was nothing to be skeptical about. I am an actor and I believe in doing my work with utmost honesty.