New Delhi. There are some characters in Hindi cinema which do not leave the mind of the audience even after the film ends. Lajja Shankar Pandey of the film Sangharsh, released in 1999, was also a similar character. Ashutosh Rana had created such a fear in this role that even the audience sitting in the theaters at that time used to get scared after seeing his voice and expressions. Today many years have passed since the release of the film, but as soon as the name of Lajja Shankar Pandey comes up, people remember the same scary face and his scary scream made by wagging his tongue.
The most special thing about this character was that no major special effects or modern technology was used to make it scary. Ashutosh Rana, with his acting and voice, created such an atmosphere which is remembered even today. The special thing is that Ashutosh Rana himself did not do any rehearsal for the scene which made the audience scream.
The story of the film was written by Mahesh Bhatt and directed by Tanuja Chandra. The story was about a dangerous Tantrik who sacrifices children in his obsession to become immortal. Just speaking dialogues was not enough for such a character. It was necessary to make him appear unusual and frightening on screen. Mahesh Bhatt wanted Lajja Shankar Pandey to have such an identity that the audience would not be able to forget for a long time.
It is from here that Ashutosh Rana's imagination gave a different identity to this character. He thought that Lajja Shankar should not be a person who reacts like a normal human being. His every action shows his inner distorted mentality. With this thought in mind, he devised a strange and scary scream while moving his tongue.
His childhood memories also had a big contribution behind this voice. His childhood spent in Gadarwara, Madhya Pradesh took him close to the folk traditions and rituals of the village. He had seen Tantrik and devotees making different types of sounds there. The experience of playing the role of Ravana in Ramleela and the subsequent acting training he received from the National School of Drama also strengthened the artist within him. He combined these experiences with the mentality of Lajja Shankar Pandey.
When the time came to shoot this scene, Ashutosh Rana decided to do his experiment directly in front of the camera. The camera started and he suddenly let out that dreadful scream while moving his tongue. This was completely unexpected for the people present on the set. There was such silence for a few moments as if everyone had come under the influence of that voice. Even after the cut, the team did not know for a few moments how to react. Then echo of applause was heard on the set.
The story of Lajja Shankar Pandey's character is no less interesting. At that time Ashutosh Rana had received the news that this role could be given to a big star. He was in Hyderabad for the shooting of another film. As soon as he got the news, he reached Mumbai and met Mahesh Bhatt. Later he came to know that this information was wrong. Mahesh Bhatt made it clear that the character of Lajja Shankar Pandey was written keeping Ashutosh Rana in mind.
Even though the film did not achieve huge success at the box office as expected at the time of its release, with time Sangharsh got a different identity. The new generation also watched the film through television and later digital platforms. Today Lajja Shankar Pandey is counted among the memorable villains of Hindi cinema. Ashutosh Rana proved that technology is not always needed to create fear. Many times an artist's eyes, voice and imagination are enough to send a shiver down the spine of the audience.