Arjun Rampal’s avatar as Arun Gawli in the upcoming film ‘Daddy’ has taken everyone by surprise — the actor’s resemblance to the gangster is truly striking.

However, it was no cakewalk for the sophisticated Arjun, who is considered to be one of the most good-looking men in the country, to turn into the don. Prod him on the subject and he says, “I think Arun Gawli is a very good-looking man (laughs).”

On a more serious note, the actor insists that he wasn’t willing to compromise on the authenticity of the character. He says, “It’s a true story and so, it has to be real. It is also about ensuring that the character is not completely glamourised — he is a person who comes from a certain backdrop, someone who has been instrumental in creating so much fear and at the same time, garnering so much love.”

The actor wanted to get the look of the real-life gangster down pat. He elaborates, “The biggest challenge was for me to look like Arun Gawli. I was nervous on the first day that we did the look test. I wanted it to be exactly like my look in the film and so, I had already lost eight kilos when I tried on the prosthetic nose and cap. The first look test was actually shot on a phone and it was one of the happiest moments of my life when everyone said that I looked like the character. Then, the Italian crew of technicians came on board and further enhanced my look. A lot of things went wrong, and we had to redo it till we got it right. We went radical with various things.”

Releasing on July 21, Daddy is directed by Ashim Ahluwalia starring Arjun Rampal