Arjun Rampal to learn thumri, dadra for cop role

Mumbai: After Salman Khan, it is Arjun Rampal`s turn to play a cop in a dusty backward town of Uttar Pradesh. His character is based on a real life police officer and the actor will be learning the nuances of Hindustani classical music.

The character of the cop in ‘Jai Ramji’, which starts shooting in a month is based on a real cop from Allahabad. And director Tigmanshu Dhulia won`t let Arjun fake it, so the actor will have to meet the cop and understand what makes him unique. "The man is incredible. He is not only a super capable police officer, he`s also a connoisseur of French wines and Hindustani classical music. He can nab a criminal as swiftly as he can identify a thumri or dadra," said Dhulia. The 38-year-old actor will head for Allahabad next month to meet the real-life character and to get savvy about the nuances of classical music. According to a source, Arjun was to originally play the typical small-time boorish North-Indian cop with his khaki shirt open to his naval and his gun half out of his holster. Apparently Arjun and the director decided to take the cop`s character the other way. Reasonsed Dhulia: "Why must we always presume that small-town cops from North India are like Chulbul Pandey (Salman Khan`s character in `Dabangg`)? I know so many civil servants in UP who are suave, worldly-wise, literate and erudite. Arjun`s character of the cop is as much into aesthetics and arts as he is into nabbing hardcore criminals. I want him to spend at least two weeks in preparation. I don`t want him to just wear khaki and behave like a filmy cop." Arjun, who is hungry for opportunities to play characters that take him away from the city sophisticate, is game. He learnt to play rock music for "Rock On!!!" for which he won the national award. He is now eager to go Hindustani on his musical journey. IANS