EXCLUSIVE | Radhika Apte: 'Thank God more and more female centric films and series are being made'

Radhika Apte and debutant director Anushree Mehta got candid in an exclusive chat with Firstpost about their upcoming film Mrs Undercover that streams on Zee5 from today, April 14. The interaction was fun, insightful, and ultimately satisfying.

Anushree on the theme of the film

This is a story about a housewife who is also an undercover agent. That’s why the title, Mrs Undercover.

Radhika on blending humor and tension in the film

My director had written it like that and this is a comedy, it’s a comic-thriller.  So I tried playing along that, I really don’t know how to answer that (laughs).

The actress on doing action in the film

It was fun, but I wish I was stronger because I had to roll in the air with the harness and all; and you really need a strong core for that. I wish there was time for rehearsals.

Is comedy serious business?

Radhika: I don’t know who says that, but I find comedy very risky or stressful. With comedy I feel you can either make people laugh or you can fall completely flat. There is nothing in between. It’s a bit scary. With Monica O My Darling and now this, I hope people laugh otherwise it will just fall flat.

Is Durga the apt name for Radhika?

Anushree: I feel Durga is the apt name for the protagonist of my film, and Durga is the apt name for every woman. Har Naari Mein Durga Hai, that’s what the idea is, that’s what we are propagating through this film.

Radhika on how she plays her characters and if she takes them home

I have been able to detach myself so far, but I also take away something from each of the characters. There is always something to take away even from the person that you meet. With this character of Durga in Mrs Undercover, it’s all about realizing your own strengths, your own abilities, and the fact that you are going to stand up for yourself and decide that you’re not going to take this shit from anybody. This is basically her journey of realizing her self worth, and that is the case with every human being. Sometimes we treat ourselves too badly, we have a very bad impressions about ourselves. We are capable of so much more, far more than what we give ourselves credit for.

Anushree on revealing the identity of the killer in the trailer itself

It was absolutely intentional. Every film cannot be a whodunnit. I would love to make a whodunnit but this film is very very different from anything people have ever known because the narrative is very different yet very relatable. Also, Sumeet Vyas’ character is a metaphor, he’s not a singular villain or the antagonist. It talks about something that is very prevalent in our society and that is misogyny. So his character is basically a personification of that metaphor.

Are there any similarities between Radhika and Durga?

Some. Like I’m very clumsy. I like to be silly. I don’t like to be very serious in life, so that is the one aspect about Durga that I really appreciate a lot.

On equal parts being written for women

Radhika: Thank god for that. We need equality in every field, but I’m so happy with the fact that more and more female centric films and series are being made. They are getting some very interesting parts across platforms and genres. It’s high time and it needs to happen even more I think.

On too much emphasis on box-office

Anushree: Cinema is commercial art, commercial comes before art so it’s business. Having said that, overdoing it to the point of audiences only checking box office numbers takes away a lot. from the film itself. Irrespective of how often a film may fare at the box office, it may turn out to be a film that I really like because Art is subjective. But nobody should make an opinion about a film on the basis of somebody’s tweet.

Radhika: I agree with what she said, it’s a business. Aapka khud ka paisa laga hai to dekhoge na numbers? But sometimes people are so obsessed with numbers that it takes away the art from commercial art, like what she said.

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