Prepping for a part can be a process of discovery, as one learns more about the character, his flaws and foibles. Pratik Gandhi swears by it, more so when given a meaty role like that in Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Yash. The crime thriller traces the life of dacoit Shiv Kumar Patel aka Dadua, who was gunned down, along with several gang members, in 2007, in a Special Task Force operation led by then-SSP Amitabh Yash. While Arshad Warsi steps into the role of the dacoit who operated on the borders of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, Gandhi plays the cop who ended his reign of terror. 

Gandhi, who recently kicked off Yash’s shoot in Uttar Pradesh, says it has been preceded by weeks of prep. “There is a lot of material available online — from news reports to video clips. I read up on all the information I could source on the IPS officer. Before writing the script, Tigmanshu sir also dedicated a lot of time to his research,” says the actor.