'Siya Ke Ram:' Wrestler Danish Akhtar Saifi talks about playing Hanuman on show

Mythological show "Siya Ke Ram," is currently revolving around Ram (Ashish Sharma), Sita (Madirakshi Mundle) and Lakshman (Karan Suchak) proceeding towards 14 years of vanwaas (exile). With this development on the show, viewers will soon witness Ram's devotee Hanuman joining them on their journey.

The makers, who were looking for an actor who would justify the role of Hanuman, have finally inked a deal with wrestler Danish Akhtar Saifi. Danish, who is apparently 6 feet 6 inches tall, will be making his acting debut with the role of Hanuman.

It was the show's director Nikhil Sinha who discovered the wrester in a wrestling match and offered him the role. "I never thought that I would end up coming in this field. Everything feels like a dream. Nikhil Sinha (director of the show) saw one of my wrestling matches and that's when he discovered me and discussed his excitement about taking me on board, [sic]" IANS quoted Danish as saying.

The wrestler-turned-actor said he had been working hard on his acting skills and prepping for the role for the past few months. "It was his vision that convinced me to try out for this role. I have been working on my acting skills since the last three months and reading up on the character to be able to portray it in the desired way. I am really excited and can't wait to begin shooting," he added.

The makers have done a detailed study and are looking into minute details to give the character of Hanuman an authentic look. There were reports earlier that television heartthrob Sidharth Shukla had been approached to play the role of Hanuman on the show. However, it seems the deal didn't materialise between Sidharth and the makers, and the opportunity went to Danish.