Deepali Singh (DNA; May 4, 2019)

After playing a mother in her debut film, CityLights, Patralekhaa is all set to play one again. Except that this time, she will be seen playing a surrogate one in ZEE5’s web film Badnaam Gali. The actress has shot for the film in Delhi and she tells us about the fascinating journey it has been...

How do you work on a film which is so far removed from your situation?
It’s beyond anyone’s imagination, right? When I did my first scene for the film, which required me to pick up a coffee from a cafe, I walked the way I do. The director told me, that the gait did not look right, that I needed to feel bigger. For a few days, he kept insisting that. I was walking like I’m 56 kg but with the pregnancy, you become heavier and your walk changes. Suddenly one day, I was getting ready to go to work and even though I hadn’t strapped on the fake pregnancy bump, my body subconsciously tilted forward! I always thought acting is internal but for the first time, it felt like it went from external to internal. After that incident, there was a kind of shift. I felt more attached to my stomach! (laughs)

With this film, do you wish to break the taboos around surrogacy?
Yes, it is telling you to break the taboos and to be non-judgemental, but it is told in a light-hearted manner. It’s a comedy, but I felt the makers are trying to deal with some real issues. That’s what attracted me to it when the writer narrated the script to me.

You have explored the digital space earlier, with Bose: Dead/Alive. How do you look upon the experience?
As an actor when you’re shooting, you don’t act thinking this is for digital or for cinema. But now, when I see the craze people have for shows like Mirzapur or Sacred Games, I realise that the reach is far beyond. My friends living in Los Angeles love Mirzapur. Some of my smaller-budget films that don’t release in smaller cities have found a platform here. The digital platforms are right out there for everyone to view it.

What else are you working on?
I’m doing a Kannada film for which I will be heading to London soon. There is a film I’m a part of, but I’m waiting for the makers to announce it. It’s a really interesting script, something that will touch the youth of our country.

You made your debut with boyfriend Rajkummar Rao in Citylights. Is there anything you both are planning to be a part of?
We are just waiting for the right script, something we feel we must do. Otherwise, by now, we would have done a lot more films! I’m really happy with the kind of work Raj is doing and I’m in a better place with the work that I am doing. If we get something good, our professional lives will cross each other again and I hope that happens soon!