Highlights
- Faisal Malik drew inspiration from Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk while imagining his look as Kumbhakarna in Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana.
- The Panchayat actor describes playing Ravana’s mighty brother as a dream come true, while acknowledging the challenges of bringing the larger-than-life character to the screen.
- Malik also praises director Nitesh Tiwari’s involvement and teases more to come in Ramayana Part 2.
Faisal Malik is stepping into unfamiliar territory with Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana. Best known for playing Prahlad Chacha in the series Panchayat, the actor takes on Kumbhakarna, the formidable younger brother of Ravana, in the upcoming mythological epic.
To imagine the character’s imposing appearance, Malik looked beyond Indian cinema for inspiration. In an interview with Variety India, he revealed that Mark Ruffalo’s portrayal of the Hulk was one of his early references.
Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk inspired Faisal Malik’s Kumbhakarna
“We have all seen the Hulk and how Mark Ruffalo becomes the big green guy. That is a reference for me when I started imagining how I would look,” Malik said.
However, bringing Kumbhakarna to life involves more than capturing his enormous size. The character is known in the Ramayana for his immense strength and his legendary six-month sleep, making the role a distinctive challenge for the actor.
Malik described the opportunity to play a character from an epic he grew up watching as a dream come true.
“My experience of playing Kumbhakarna in ‘Ramayana’ is a dream come true. We grew up watching ‘Ramayana’, so playing a character from it feels like sheer luck,” he said.
“The challenge here is that this world is completely different for me. He isn’t a normal human; he’s massive, and he was in a deep sleep for six months. To keep all of that in mind and derive a final output is a tricky part,” he added.
Faisal Malik hopes Kumbhakarna will leave a lasting impression
Malik is conscious of the enduring place Ramayana characters and their portrayals hold in the public imagination. He pointed to Ramanand Sagar’s television adaptation and Arun Govil’s portrayal of Lord Ram as an example of how actors can remain closely associated with these legendary figures for decades.
“The fact that these characters and even actors are immortal in the memory of the masses. Arun Govil ji played Lord Ram decades ago, and people till date worship him as Lord Rama,” Malik said.
Having earned recognition as Prahlad Chacha in Panchayat, the actor hopes his portrayal of Kumbhakarna will create a similar connection with audiences.
“The challenge is that I manage to make space in people’s hearts as Kumbhakarna like I did with Prahlad Chacha from ‘Panchayat’. That will be a huge validation,” he said.
Nitesh Tiwari’s role in shaping Kumbhakarna
Malik also credited Tiwari for his close involvement in developing the character, particularly its appearance and how it would fit into the film’s world.
“Specifically for my character, Nitesh sir was so involved, especially because it is a one-of-a-kind character and they have to give more attention to how he looks, the size, and blending him in with the rest of the world. I just had to perform, and now I am waiting to see how the audience reacts to it. Because this is something I have never done before,” he said.
The actor described working with a new team and international specialists as an experience unlike anything he had encountered in Indian cinema. Extensive preparation and behind-the-scenes glimpses of Hollywood productions helped him appreciate the scale of the project.
“I knew I was in very good hands and working on a landmark project,” Malik said.
While he remained tight-lipped about the film’s finer details, he also hinted that the story would have more to offer in its second installment.
“You should wait and watch Part 2, there is so much more in store,” he teased.
