Patralekhaa on drawing references from the late actor for her next
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; November 16, 2018)

“One of the wishes from my bucket list has been ticked off, ” beams Patralekhaa who recently wrapped up the Pradeep Sarkar-directed venture, Arranged Marriage. Her first collaboration with the auteur sees her play a married Bengali woman living in Kolkata. Interestingly, the actor, who plays a “docile” girl in the Ali Fazal starrer, found the perfect muse in the late Madhubala, who had essayed similar roles in Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958) and Tarana (1951).

“My character is a timid girl and I couldn’t think of a better reference point than Madhubala. I watched her old films to pick up her mannerisms,” says Patralekhaa. Given that the veteran actor was famed as much for her beauty as for her style, it is no surprise that Patralekhaa also borrowed from her sartorial sensibilities.

Though she refuses to divulge too many details about the relationship drama set in the City of Joy, the actor states that working under the vision of Sarkar was sheer joy. “Dada [as Sarkar is fondly called] would record us as we did our readings. It’s an interesting process because so many scenes are developed as we walk through the sequences. The traits of the characters became more pronounced that way.”