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If you walked out of Drishyam: The Conclusion remembering just one man’s face, there’s a good chance it was Sub-Inspector Laxmikant Gaitonde's.
Actor Kamlesh Tukaram Sawant plays the cop with a sinister smirk, a swagger, and the kind of unhinged menace that makes audiences root for his downfall while simultaneously laughing at his audacity. Moviegoers certainly didn't hold back in theaters, with his screen entry drawing loud hoots and his eventual beating earning roaring applause. Gaitonde quickly became the character everyone loved to hate, with his lines turning into viral memes overnight.
Sawant, though, has been doing this for a long time.
A Marathi theatre artist hailing from Kala Chowki in Mumbai, Sawant spent his early years landing small parts, often sharing a five-rupee "soldier-cut" haircut with his brother — a signature look that eventually paid unexpected dividends.
“The public did my casting, even when I was in tenth grade,” he smiles, remembering the strangers who would ask if he was in the army.
Sawant made his hindi film debut in Khakee (2004) alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Tusshar Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai, as a constable, then picked up an inspector’s badge in Force (2011) and another in Bhoothnath Returns (2014). Then Drishyam (2015) came calling with his most iconic character of Gaitonde.
Released in cinemas on October 2, Drishyam: The Conclusion is directed by Abhishek Pathak, who co-wrote it with Aamil Keeyan Khan and Parveez Shaikh.
The film features Ajay Devgn returning as Vijay Salgaonkar, the cable operator who will go to any lengths to protect his family, alongside Tabu, Shriya Saran and Ishita Dutta, with Jaideep Ahlawat and Prakash Raj among the new faces. And somewhere in the middle of it, in uniform and under suspicion, is Gaitonde.
The audiences love to hate Gaitonde. What’s the most memorable reaction you’ve heard so far?
A friend of mine went to the theatre couple of days back and called me; he said that the moment I appeared on screen, the audience started shouting and hooting. And there was this woman who yelled, "Kill this guy at the first chance!" She got her wish in the end, after the final scene where I'm beaten up. She started dancing and clapping. I'll take that as a compliment.
Your dialogue, 'Madira pikar so gaye, chee chee chee' went viral. Did you see that coming?
From the very beginning, I knew that this would catch on. Our writer, Aamil Keeyan Khan, wrote it that way. He's the kind of writer who knows exactly what will land. I just did the job to delivering the line, but my wife has been looking at all the memes!
You've spoken very warmly about Ajay Devgn. What's your equation with him like?
He is a good human being. I believe everyone in this industry is a good actor, but it isn't easy to be a good human. I worked in Khakee around 2001 or 2002. Then in 2014, we met in Goa. I'm from Kala Chowki, and I don't have this habit of greeting people in a performative way. So even if someone I worked with in Khakee is a superstar, I wouldn't walk up and say, 'Hi sir, I'm a big fan,' because I'm a small artist.
But Ajay sir came to me and said, 'Kamlesh, you were in Khakee, right? You were the one running on the track, and I shot you.' Somebody else had played Inspector Prabhu, and he didn't remember that actor, but he remembered me.
You're known for being the funniest person on set. Is there a story?
I'm a humorous person in general. The moment I hear 'Cut', I start laughing and making others laugh. In Drishyam 2, I had a scene with Akshaye Khanna, who was relatively new to me and my nature. It was a fight scene where I was hitting the family, with a glass involved. As soon as the scene was cut, we were all laughing and I was cracking jokes. Akshaye sir got worried. He was probably thinking, 'This is a serious scene, and everyone's laughing after the cut. What is this guy doing?' But Ajay sir came to the rescue and said, 'He's a good artist. He's just someone who makes people laugh if he's standing in front of them.'
Hindi cinema seems to have decided you’re a cop. How did that happen?
It goes back to my childhood. My father taught me to exercise from a young age. When we went to the salon, a haircut cost ₹5, and there were five of us. We’d all get a soldier cut so we wouldn’t have to go back for at least a month and a half. My father was the sole earner, and he was strict about money.
So the public did my casting, even when I was in 10th grade! People would ask if I was a soldier, or in the army. Half my work is done just by looking the part; I only have to do the other half by delivering the dialogues.
In Hindi cinema, it’s fixed that I get police roles. Whatever project I’m approached for, I only get to play a policeman. In Marathi, it's a bit different. Since I’m a Marathi theatre artist, I get to essay different villains, village heads, maybe a politician... but nearly always negative characters. Once in a while I get to play a good policeman, but after Drishyam, it’s been mostly negative roles.
You first appeared in Khakee. Do you remember the experience of working on that film now?
Whatever I was eating back then, I was eating off the earnings of Khakee. I was blessed to work on productions of that scale, with actors like Bachchan saab, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Tusshar Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai. After that came Deewar and Family, both with Bachchan saab. It was in my destiny that i got lucky!
Gaitonde is the biggest role of your career so far. What has made it special?
I’d never been given a role this length, or with this much depth. That’s all down to Nishikant Kamat sir. He knew what was in me and what more there could be, and he knew how to use me best. Even in Drishyam 1, Gaitonde had a small role, but his importance in the first part was far bigger than his screen time.
The writer, Aamil Keeyan Khan, was such a fan of the character that for a month and a half during pre-production, he even used to dress up as Gaitonde! I only found out when I came to set. When we shot the sequence where people are hitting me, he was sitting at the monitor. He packed his bag and left, because he couldn’t watch my character getting beaten.
What's next for you?
I have a lot of work lined up. Force 3 with John Abraham is on the way, and I've started shooting for it.