After essaying several north Indian characters on screen, Yashpal Sharma is portraying a Marathi-speaking character in his new film

Yashpal Sharma might be a Haryanvi by origin but he has played characters from Hindi heartland for a major part of his acting. Now the actor is all slated to essay a Marathi guy in an upcoming period film about karmic retribution. Ironically, the film's story revolves around the Bihar earthquake of 1934 and Mumbai's 26/11 of 2008!

Though the role was challenging, Yashpal says he tried not to give into cinematic stereotypes. `My character's name in the film is Sadashiv Apte and this is the first time I'm playing a local guy. During the making, I just tried my best not to be a victim of image.

I do not confine myself to a particular genre or did not do only positive or comic roles. I'm not worried about the image just like Naseeruddin Shah, Irrfan and Manoj Bajpayee, who are all real actors,` says the National School of Drama graduate.

Having never played a Maharashtrian before on the big screen, Yashpal had to prep himself to get the accent right. However, his theatre background came in handy. `I'm a theatre actor first so I just had to prepare a bit.

I practiced and it made my dialogs perfect. You can't say that I'm someone from north India when you hear me deliver my dialogues with Marathi accent,` signs off Yashpal.