What it took to play Osama Bin Laden!

Have you wondered who is playing the role of Osama Bin Laden in Zero Dark Thirty? Well, director Kathryn Bigelow has a surprise for her Indian audience.

The film’s central character, Osama Bin Laden, is played by a UK-born Indian actor Ricky Sekhon .The actor, who only has few minor credits to his name so far, was made to audition for the part without knowing what it involved.

And after eight weeks of preparation, it was the resemblance of his nose to that of Osama Bin Laden’s that helped Ricky bag the role. Not only did he read books about Osama Bin Laden and Al Queda but also bought CDs to learn basic Arabic. One of the biggest physical preparations that he had to undergo was a taxing workout regime and minimalist diet so that he could approach the realms of Bin Laden skinny. Sekhon only discovered he would be playing Bin Laden once he was successful and had prepared for the role!

Zero Dark Thirty focuses on the ten year manhunt for bin Laden and the various ways that American agents tracked the 54-year-old down.

The film hits the theatres on 15^th Feb!