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This is the last month of the year. 2021 was tough on most, the film industry included. For you professionally, Mimi has taken your already successful career notches higher. Do you think this film has been a huge turning point for you?
Mimi, for me, has been special from day one. When I heard the script, I knew this was something I am going to be very passionate and excited about because somewhere, I was craving to dig in deeper. I was craving for a platform to play a character that was so layered that it could make me nervous, but at the same time, help me open up and showcase a lot more in one film. Mimi was that film for me. I loved the way the film was written because it had humour, it had moments that made you laugh and cry a little bit at the same time, and it also kind of whispered something into your ears which stayed with you. Many times, it happens you’re shooting scenes and you like them, but you don’t know how they will finally turn out when the film is ready. Here, all the actors on set were on the same page, and every time we shot a scene, we felt like it was better than what was on paper. What the film says about adopting kids at the end touched my heart. Mimi also marked my debut on OTT platforms, and I don’t think I could have asked for a better film to debut digitally. This has been my toughest role so far, and I’m really happy about the kind of response that I got.
This is the first film of your career where you played the titular role. How did you gather the confidence to pull off the part?
I felt that I had more potential, and I wasn’t getting the right kind of opportunity to tap into those parts of me and bring out a layered performance. When Mimi came my way, it felt like the perfect film to take up as the main protagonist. Yes, it did make me nervous because I was supposed to be in every frame of the film, and if I faltered anywhere, the entire film could fall apart. The character was also emotionally heavy in the second half. I think those scenes satisfied me as an actor. I like being challenged and being in a situation that scares me, makes me nervous and makes me wonder how to do this.
Some subjects draw a lot from you emotionally, and it gets difficult to break away from them even when you are not facing the camera. Was this film one of those?
This, I think, was one of the most challenging and emotionally heavy films I have done, even though most part of the film is actually comedy. I remember the first schedule of Mimi was very light (before she became a surrogate mother), as her life is very colourful and spunky. I used to call that a happy schedule. The second schedule was where she gets pregnant, and her life turns around. She matures as a woman and her dreams are shattered. Those bits were very emotional and heavy because I was almost doing an intense or sad scene every single day. And you end up drawing from what you’re feeling inside. So, during that entire schedule, I think I was crying, or I was sort of screaming at someone or fighting with someone every single day.
Has Mimi changed your process of picking roles and will it reflect in your film choices in the future?
There are films that have excited me before, but now they feel like a cakewalk, and I don’t feel like taking them up anymore. When you get an opportunity to do so much in a film you start craving for that feeling and experience. A movie like this doesn’t come your way very often. So, as an actor, you have to tell yourself that you are not going to get these kinds of roles all the time. You need to balance it out by doing films of all genres. There could be projects that are challenging in different ways; for example, when I’m doing an action film, it is also something that I’ve never done before. In Ganapath or Adipurush, the aura and the weight of the character that I’m playing is exciting for me.
Over the years, has there also been a change in the way filmmakers perceive you and your strength as an actress?
Yes, I do feel a change in the way people approach me and the kind of projects that are coming my way. I think, after Mimi, I got a lot of calls and messages. People started taking me a lot more seriously as an actor, and it’s something that I felt after Bareilly Ki Barfi released because before that I had done glamourous roles. Bareilly Ki Barfi was a little de-glam, people saw the actor in me more than my appearance. I remember seeing a certain shift in the kind of projects I was getting after that. With Mimi, I think it’s amplified.
It is often a challenge, as an actor, to strike a balance between all-out masala films and ones that are entertaining but traverse along a different path, too. How has that process been for you?
Yes, it’s difficult to strike a balance. Many times, you end up getting into a loop of doing things that are working for you. When an actor does a film that is centred around a female protagonist and gets praised for it, the tendency is to get drawn towards more such projects only. I don’t want to get typecast with any kind of limitations. I feel like taking more risks and trying something new. I want to give my audience something different to watch. And I will do so, but yes, that won’t stop me from doing other kinds of films. I want them to see me in all colours. I want to be in a completely massy entertaining film and at the same time, I also want to do a film that has a strong message and says something important that I believe in. I am as excited about Bachchan Pandey, which is a complete entertainer, as I am about my first horror-comedy, Bhediya. Then, there is a lot of action in Ganapath, and Adipurush is based on history and mythology is a completely different world for me. To be able to do all these kinds of films in a span of one and a half years — there’s nothing more I could ask for.
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