The
Raj
Thackeray
look-alike,
Rajesh
Shringharpure,
who
plays
a
prominent
role
in
Sarkar
Raj
was
actually
recommended
by
Hema
Malini
to
the
director.
Says
Ramu,
"I
don't
know
why
she
recommended
him.
She
obviously
believed
he
was
talented.
But
Hemaji
has
never
recommended
anyone
before.
Not
even
her
own
daughter
Esha,
whom
I
signed
on
my
own
for
Darling.
I
of
course
met
the
guy
then
and
I
was
immediately
struck
by
his
resemblance
to
Raj
Thackeray."
Hemaji
confirms,
"Yes,
I
did
send
Rajesh
to
Ramu.
I
think
he's
a
good
actor,
don't
you?" Says
Ramu,
"To
my
knowledge
Rajesh
hasn't
done
cinema
before.
I
like
the
challenge
of
introducing
new
talent.
My
next
film
Contract
which
is
another
underworld
film
has
ONLY
newcomers,
and
I
mean
there're
no
known
faces
in
the
film.
When
you
work
with
newcomers
you
need
a
lot
more
screen
time
to
build
the
character
because
the
audience
doesn't
know
the
actor.
But
with
Rajesh
Shringharpure
there'll
be
an
immediate
connect
in
Sarkar
Raj
because
he
looks
like
someone
the
audience
has
seen."
Story first published: Tuesday, June 3, 2008, 17:05 [IST]