EXCLUSIVE | Ila Arun on 'Aarya 3' co-star Sushmita Sen: 'Didn't find her weak even after her heart attack'

Ila Arun can be as fantastic as an actor as she is as a singer. She has a booming voice and a fierce screen presence. She’s the newest entrant in Ram Madhvani’s show Aarya as it enters its third season. In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, the actor and singer spoke about her character, working with Sushmita Sen, and also Ram Madhvani as the director.

Edited excerpts from the interview

What fascinated you the most about your character in Aarya 3?

This is a challenge role for me because I’ve not played a Don so far. It was a dream for me to play the role of a woman with power, but not necessarily a vamp. This is a character that has the power to control desires and have things the way she wants, and she’s always there to protect her dynasty and kingdom. In real life too, I’m wise and ambitious, and someone who’s polite and who forgives. The only difference is Nalini Sahiba doesn’t believe in forgetting and forgiving. This is a character that exudes royalty and regality and I have closely observed this since a couple of my friends are from royal families.

What would you like to share about your experience of working with Sushmita Sen?

I was looking forward to working with her again. She’s a very powerful actress and a learned person. Her father was in the Air Force so she has been brought up with a certain confidence. Sushmita was always the right choice for this role from the beginning. But she’s a very different person off the camera, very affectionate, polite and humble. Being Miss Universe, she fulfilled all the promises that she made on that stage and everyone knows that. They know about her concern for the girl child and adopting two daughters. We portrayed a different relationship on the big screen in Chingari but bonded really well off screen. We don’t meet really often but she’s a person I look up to. It was a beautiful opportunity to work with her again.

What do you have to say about Ram Madhvani as a director?

He humbly explains what he wants and you have to prepare yourself particularly. He believes that his artists must unlearn what they have been practicing so far so they they become fresh. He has the practice of giving all his artists a book on how to be a good actor so that people understand what is going on in his mind. His unit is fantastic and everyone is very disciplined, they all interact with each other and respect one and all. We all used to have our dinner together, right from the make-up man to the light man to the associate director to the writer. This used to help us take positive energy. I didn’t see any showdown or argument on his sets. Sushmita is a brave person, even after her heart attack, I didn’t find her weak, she was throughout in action.

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