All that the leading ladies of Vishal Bhardwaj’s new film Pataakha do is wrestle and fight with each other. Dangal girl Sanya Malhotra and television star Radhika Madan, best known for the soap Meri Aashiqui Tumse Hi, play the two warring sisters.
“We had to really be as hateful and violent as we could with each other. In my childhood I was also a lot like the character I play in the film,” said Sanya. The film also stars comedian Sunil Grover, best known as Guthi from Comedy Nights with Kapil as Dipper.
“On television the pitch of your performance is higher because the point is that you need to grab people’s attention. They could be doing household chores like cutting vegetables, eating and at the same time watching TV,” said Radhika. Sunil agrees and says that the acting style changes in the movies, especially when attempting something rustic and realistic like Pataakha.
All three of them still have to pinch themselves when they realise that they are doing a Vishal Bhardwaj film. “It feels like a dream to me, especially because I’ve been such a huge fan of his work,” says Sanya. Bhardwaj wanted both actors to look completely disheveled and there are scenes where they are fighting in dung and mud.
“It never felt strange because these were the characters. And our characters don’t really care about the way they look so it would look very strange if we looked all prim and proper,” said Radhika. The complete lack of vanity in them is refreshing since a lot of stars even in the most uncomfortable situations have their hair and make-up in place. But a realistic take is what one can always expect from a Vishal Bhardwaj film and Pataakha promises to be no different.
Pataakha starring Sanya Malhotra, Radhika Madan and Sunil Grover releases on 28 September.
Camera: Sanjoy Deb
Camera Assistant: Gautam Sharma
Editor: Ashish McCune
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)