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Karmma Calling marks your acting debut and since this is with Raveena Tandon, it
must be extra special. How did you land this role and what intrigued you the most
about this project?
I moved to Mumbai in March 2022. I had 0 connections to the film industry and was
genuinely very lost on how to approach working as an actor here. So, I went to Panchami
Ghavri who owns PGC (a casting company) and I asked her if I could intern with her for 3
months. I wanted to learn as much as possible about the auditioning process, what makes a good audition, and learn more about the behind the scenes of how/why actors get selected. She graciously offered me the internship and during my time I helped 100s of actors give auditions. I was maybe doing 6/7 scenes a day for 3 months. It was amazing I learnt and grew so much. After I left the company, I came back to the same office 1 week later to audition for Mira. I was just excited to give an audition. I was not at all even thinking about bagging the role. So when I got the role I was beyond ecstatic and shocked. What intrigued me most about the project was definitely the story. I binge watched 22 episodes of the first season of Revenge and I absolutely loved it. It’s so interesting that I couldn’t look away.
What can you recall about your first meeting with Raveena Tandon and what sort of
off screen prep you both did to get the dynamics of mother and daughter right for the camera?
I think the first time I met Raveena we needed to take some family photos to make sure the vision for “ The Kotharis” was working. I’m usually a very outgoing and talkative person but when I met Raveena I was so shy and quiet. She literally radiates the aura of a star so I was both in awe and nervous. Then I realised that in most of my scenes with her I have to fight back and challenge her, so I needed to get rid of those nerves.. Thankfully we did a lot of readings together and that really broke the ice. And during these readings she was also just making conversation and talking like a normal human being and so the nervous energy just went away very quickly. It was also nice that most of my scenes with Raveena were shot within a week, so I could easily stay in that zone with her the whole time. Moreover, I think Raveena just really understood Indrani and I understood Mira, so creating this dynamic was actually fairly simple because we just stayed honest to our characters. I think it was a challenge for me to shoot this scene at the charity gala in episode 4, because that’s the only time Mira is speaking nicely to her mom. The rest of the time Mira wants nothing to do with her mother so, for me to figure out how Mira would be nice to her while maintaining that underlying layer of resentment towards her was a challenge.
Considering Raveena Tandon is an established actor and has been part of this industry since a long time, what all qualities did you imbibe from her and what were some tips did she impart that you feel will help you in this showbiz career?
I think her work ethic was something that I picked up on. She is so focused and hardworking. There were some days where she had multiple scenes and I had only one or two so I had a lot of free time. Raveena would shoot one scene, go change and get ready for her second and so on. And never once did I see her lose energy or focus. Being on set can get really tiring for everyone, and for this show she mostly needed to look fresh and glam for the majority of the time. It’s not easy hiding fatigue in one’s face or body after so many hours but, Raveena always seemed so fresh and full of energy. I also learnt from Raveena the power of the eyes of an actor. Her eyes tell such a powerful story and when watching the show the amount of depth she has hit me even more. This is something I definitely want to focus on going forward. One beautiful thing about this show is the amount of female power. There are two female leads and the show is helmed by a female director. This is also something that made me proud, as a young girl, to be a part of a show with such strong women.
Since it’s an adaptation of a foreign series, it comes with its own set of challenges. And more often than not, the remakes are heavily criticised and compared with their original counterparts. Hence, were you nervous about this aspect and how do you think the makers adapted Revenge in the context of India?
I don’t think this was something I was ever very nervous about. I do agree that remakes of
foreign shows are often heavily criticised but comparison is natural. I think the makers not
only had the task of adapting Revenge for India, but also had the task of bringing the show
10 years forward, since Revenge was made 10 years ago. So much has happened in the
last 10 years, specifically due to the advancement of technology and social media. For
example, in Karmma Calling Mira is an influencer as well as a rich girl. And access to
information is far more available which can affect the way Karmma takes her revenge. So the characters also had to modernise in order to fit in today’s time. I think the way they adapted the show to India is beautiful. And the biggest difference between Revenge and Karmma Calling is the aesthetic which is a lot more sparkly once adapted to India. The fusion of our culture with this thrilling story line I think adds to the binge worthy quality of the show. The makers shone light into this world of the uber rich in India, which is something that has not been as predominant on OTT.
Your character of Mira had several layers to her. It wasn’t as one dimensional as one would think. When a character is well-written, how much space does it give to an actor like yourself to improvise? What aspects did you bring to Mira that was not the part of the original script?
I think the amount of space we as actors have to improvise is more so dependent on the
director. Having a character that is well written is a blessing, but despite that every actor will naturally perform the same character in a completely different way. Ruchi, in fact, gave me so much freedom when it came to Mira. I think that’s because she trusted me with her, which made me feel so grateful for her.
Can you recall the most complex scene from Karmma Calling that you felt challenging cracking it? And how did you ace it eventually?
I wouldn’t consider this the most complex scene but it was the most difficult for me. This is the scene in episode 1 in which Dash and Mira meet for the first time in Bombil cafe. The day before this scene I got some really bad news and I was really emotionally affected by it. So, for this scene my character is actually really happy since she’s meeting Dash and all in all she is in a positive zone. After the first few takes Ruchi asked me if I was stressed and I said no, and I actually didn’t think that I was. She then called me to the monitor to see and that’s when I realised how stressed out my face actually looks. This is when I learnt how much compartmentalisation actors need to do sometimes. That even if they are dealing with a lotas individuals that need to be compartmentalised in order to give justice to the character they are playing. It definitely took a few takes that day but I just tried to focus on my breathing and the directions from Ruchi. Honestly, she was so patient with me that day, I felt so safe in that environment. And Piyush, my co actor kept making me laugh and smile which also loosened the tension and just went for it. This was the scene I was actually the most nervous to watch and I am so happy with the way it turned out.
What was the most challenging aspect about Mira that you found difficult to grasp? And how did you go about tackling that challenge?
I think the most challenging aspect about Mira for me to grasp was her confidence and her boldness. For example, Mira is incredibly confident in her body and the way she speaks. She is always wearing short and revealing clothes which honestly really intimidated me and made me feel conscious at times. And being self conscious will show in the body language
and definitely would show on camera. This was something I really needed to tackle in order
to do justice to Mira. I spent a lot of time in front of the mirror studying how I carry myself
when wearing revealing clothes and then played with how Mira would carry herself. I needed
to find this confidence in myself and eventually I did and didn’t think twice about it afterwards.
What’s the best compliment you got for your role in Karmma Calling and from whom?
The best compliment I got was from Salonie Patel, she’s an amazing actress and also
married to Viraf (who plays Zain Khan in the show). After the screening she came to me and said Mira was her favourite character. She told me that she thought I played her naturally
and that she would get excited everytime I would come on screen because it was like a
breath of fresh air from all the intense drama that was going on. That honestly meant the
world to me and just honestly gave me so much motivation.
You have said in your previous interviews how you were always fascinated and attracted to the world of acting, showbiz and theatre.
Considering the kind of competition out there, how did you overcome the initial nervousness or inhibitions before stepping into this industry?
Honestly, I still haven’t gotten over the nervousness or inhibitions about stepping into the industry. To prevent myself from overthinking and worrying too much I just take it one day at a time. Thankfully the experiences I’ve had and the people I’ve met have all been so positive and lovely. I think navigating the industry and making the right choices is something I’m struggling with, especially since I’m new and figuring it all out by myself. But at the end of the day I trust myself and hopefully that’s enough.
After Karmma Calling, what sort of roles would you want to take up? And whether you would prefer meatier roles for OTT over supporting roles in a Bollywood film featuring A-listers? What will be your priority?
In my opinion, work is work and I have no preference between meatier OTT roles or
supporting roles in films with A-listers. My loyalty lies with the character and if I believe that a character interests or challenges me, I will love to play them regardless of the medium. At least for the next few years I really want to grow as an actor and learn as much as I possibly
can. If any project is offering me that then I will gladly take it up.
After Raveena Tandon, which actor will you manifest a movie with? And since Ranbir Kapoor is your crush, would you rather do a Rom-Com with him or a serious drama?
Hahaha to be specific I have a crush on Bunny, Ranbir’s character from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. It’s one of my favourite films of all time. I would love to do any kind of movie with Ranveer Singh, I think he’s such a talented actor and has such a fun personality that I’d both learn alot and have such a fun on set experience. Also, Alia Bhatt. She’s definitely my favourite actor today. Her acting journey and film repertoire is one of the most exceptional I’ve seen. I really look up to her as an actress. I’ve literally performed so many of her monologues as practice, I’m definitely inspired by her a lot.
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