Celebrated actor Sharad Kelkar, who is playing the antagonist in the upcoming film Operation Romeo’, says it was one of the most uncomfortable yet very realistic characters he has ever played in a film.

In the film, he played the character of a police officer who one night harassed a young couple in the middle of the road and as the story goes on, the reason behind the action gets unfolded.

Even though the actor is known for playing a variety of roles in films, in conversation with IANS, he reveals his reason behind taking up the film.

Sharad told IANS: “I think in the last couple of years, I have got multiple opportunities to play different roles, but this one was unique. Firstly, my character Magesh Yadav in the film is nowhere close to who I am in real life and there are no shades of such in me. I am a father of a daughter. I am otherwise an emotional human being.”

“This character put me in a very uncomfortable space, and there was no reference point outside or inside me. Every time, between action and cut, I was just living on that moment, convincing myself that a man could be like that…because our film is based on a true story,” he added.

The actor also pointed out that the incident of moral policing has increased and created more mental pressure due to smartphones and social media.

“I think somewhere random video recording, projection of half-truth and putting everything on social media put people’s image at risk. For instance, a hug is also a way of greeting and it is a social gesture. But we have seen how when a boy and girl hug each other socially, taken out of context and put on social media, and conveniently made a story out of it. The fact is, these days, a picture cannot be evidence anymore, what matters is what happened before and after the picture or the video is taken,” said Sharad.

The film ‘Operation Romeo’ is an official remake of a Malayalam film ‘Ishq’. The Hindi language film is produced by Neeraj Pandey, directed by Shashant Shah, also features Bhumika Chawla, Sidhant Gupta and Vedika Pinto, releases theatrically on April 22.