It was very unlike me to be Rani; nor was I the first and the obvious choice for the film. I was initially not sure about being Rani either, because I am nowhere close to her as a person and neither could I comprehend her mind space. But, the character turned out to be a gift that kept giving me love.
I went in fully blank to play her and had apprehensions that either she would be a miss, or she just might bring in the wow factor. I had set myself up for failure. But, when it clicked, it became a personal victory of sorts—the fact that I put myself so out of my comfort zone, and still managed to be convincing.
That is a huge victory for any actor. With Rani, I also explored a part of me that I didn’t know existed. Playing the seductress, someone using her sexuality, which I hadn’t done on or off screen.
So, I discovered that I could be this person too. So, there is a sort of affection for this character, I guess. It has been very organic.
We didn’t intend to make these many films together. I remember when I was working on Rashmi Rocket, I wanted to take it to her to write the dialogues. She contacted me for Haseen Dilruba, and like this, we just ended up working together, and you will see a lot more from the two of us.
It’s a belief; she knows I will take the leap of faith with her writing, and I trust her to hold me and have my back. She understands the risk I want to take with my characters. She is always telling me that I will make you do the unexpected.
She like.