A STAR IN THE MAKING

Amrita Mukherjee: Radhika Madan arrived on the Bollywood scene playing a quarrelsome sister in Vishal Bhardwaj’s 2018 film Pataakha. She landed the role after Parineeti Chopra, Shraddha Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha and Bhumi Pednekar were auditioned for it. The same year, Radhika clinched the Most Promising Newcomer Award at the 25th Star Screen Awards and was nominated for the Best Actress Critics at the Filmfare Awards.

“The funniest part was after the film released, many people told me we liked this new girl in the movie. Do you know who she is? And I would say, ‘It’s me,’” says Radhika with a laugh.

The actress moved on from her lead role in Ekta Kapoor’s serial Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi to the big screen and made an impact with her very first role. She is the kind of actress who is willing to do anything for a role; be it putting on 12 kilos for Pataakha or learning martial arts for Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota. The latter won the People’s Choice Award when it premiered at the Midnight Madness section at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2018.

Gifted with an uncanny sense of humour, Radhika is an intelligent conversationalist. She has no qualms about speaking her mind and gives Bollywood Insider a peek into her journey in filmdom.

You were working as a dance instructor in Delhi. Did you dream of making it in movies?

Never, I dreamed of becoming a tap dancer in Broadway, but the universe had other plans and hence took me in a totally different direction. When someone called me and said I had been spotted on Facebook and I should go down to an audition in Delhi, I thought it was a bad joke on me. But when I found out the audition was really happening, I decided to go. I must say I was awkward at the audition since I had never acted before, but I really don’t know what they liked about me and I was selected.

Then when I was called to Mumbai, I thought it would be a great opportunity to see the city I had never been to, so I just came down. Then everything happened in a whirlwind. I ended up signing the contract for the serial Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi and stayed on in Mumbai. It’s been five years since then.

Working in a serial is difficult considering the long hours and deadlines. How was it for you?

For months I cried all the time. I cried in the scenes and I cried when I went back home to my loneliness. Living alone at the age of 18 was so difficult. On top of that, I was suddenly thrown into a world I had no clue about. I actually hated it. My friends were in college and they were going to picnics and I was crying over my on-screen husband’s dead body. I had no way out because I was contract bound.

       But after around six months, I started settling down a bit. I was very good in mimicry, so I just managed my scenes by exactly following what I was told to do. I knew nothing of acting. Gradually I realized acting was also an art like dancing, painting or singing and I started observing and picking up the nuances. Ekta Kapoor had more faith in me than I had in myself. I was actually paid to learn acting.

Did you enjoy doing Jhalak Dikhla Jaa Season 8?

I loved it. It was something completely up my sleeve. I always wanted to be a choreographer on the show. I never imagined I would be there as an actress. While doing the show I was shooting for 12 to 13 hours for my serial then I would travel for an hour to the rehearsals of Jhalak…and would be there for 4-5 hours. During that phase I managed 1-2 hours of sleep at night. But since dance was my passion, I could pull it off.

Was it difficult to transit from television to films?

It wasn’t difficult at all. In fact, films are much easier. I believe after doing TV, anyone can do anything. In TV you are given a script on the floor and then given a deadline to finish the scenes, because it has to be canned and sent to the channel the same day. The pressure is tremendous and you get so used to it.

       In movies, you get to rehearse for weeks and then you can get into your character. I had to unlearn whatever I learned on TV, because in case of films you have to keep your vessel empty so that you can fill it in with any kind of role you are offered.

Not many women from TV have made it big in Bollywood. What made you think you could?

I was laughed at when I expressed my big-screen aspirations. If I put forward examples of Shah Rukh Khan and Sushant Singh Rajput making it from TV, I would be asked to give examples of women. But that did not deter me. I was offered two serials with a monstrous amount of money that would have helped me buy a luxurious home in Mumbai and settle down to a cushy life. I had to make a choice. Either I went for that or I started all over again standing in the queue for auditions. I decided to go for the latter. I wouldn’t know what I was capable of if I did not try.

When you started auditioning, did you get any casting couch propositions?

When I started auditioning for films, I was already working in TV and I was well aware. If anyone dropped hints about meeting at a hotel I wouldn’t go. I met people at their offices or at the studio for auditions. I always insisted on meetings in public places. I never interacted with anyone after 7pm. I must say the #MeToo movement is revolutionary in its own way. It has empowered women in the industry. People wouldn’t dare to talk ‘shit’ to you. They would think ten times before coming up with an indecent proposal.

How did you bag your first role?

Pataakha wasn’t my first film; Mard Ko Dard Nahin Hota was actually my debut film, but it got delayed. I had gone to audition for the movie Laila-Majnu and really wanted to play a romantic lead with my hair flying in the wind as I stood at the balcony singing a song. But as it always happens with me, the universe had other plans. I was spotted by the makers of Mard Ko… and they smuggled me out of the audition and said that I was the heroine they were looking for. My hair did fly in the movie, but not as I had conceived it in my mind when I would play Laila; it flew because I did action in the film.

You are getting rave reviews for your role in Mard Ko…

I worked very hard for the film and I am glad it’s paying off. I hit the gym and developed abs. I trained for 4-5 hours a day in martial arts for 9 months, especially in Jeet Kune Do (JKD), a form of martial arts that has evolved from Bruce Lee’s philosophy.

      This is not a conventional glamorous role although I play a cool girl in the film. There are many layers to the character and loads of action.

With Pataakha, why did you decide to don such a de-glamourised avatar so early in your career?

It’s a Vishal Bhardwaj film. If he had given me the role of a watchman in his film, I would have done it. I had so much faith in him that I read the script only after I signed the contract. In fact, Pataakha was a dream role in many ways. Apart from giving me an opportunity to showcase myself as an actor, it allowed me to eat without a care in the world. The story is about two sisters who are shown in different ages. When I was playing the young age, my slim frame was perfectly fine. But when I was playing a 30-year-old woman, I was required to put on 12 kilos in one month. I gorged on ice cream and chhole bhature. To be able to eat like that was a wonderful feeling.   (Laughs!)

What was the toughest phase of your journey?

I signed a contract for Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, but the movie got shelved. I was contract-bound and there was no clarity if the film would take off again. I did not know whether I should move on or continue to pin my hopes on the film. This went on for one and a half years and I kept getting calls for work on TV. It was a very tough phase because I had to make some hard decisions. Many people from the TV fraternity told me that I was wasting my time and I should go back to where I belonged. I used the time to watch as many films as possible to learn the art of acting and to keep my sanity intact. Things changed when Ronnie Screwvala picked up the film and it got made. I am glad I held on to my patience