Titas Chowdhury (HINDUSTAN TIMES; November 23, 2019)

Urvashi Rautela, who started her career with Singh Saab The Great (2013), believes that her histrionic skills are still untapped. Her upcoming movie, Pagalpanti, she believes, is a stepping stone to the bigger picture. “With Pagalpanti, you’ll see me in a new avatar. I hope things keep getting better from here on out,” she says.

The comic caper has been a learning curve for Urvashi. She shares, “I saw Pagalpanti as a learning opportunity without thinking about what I’m doing in the film. With time, I’ve learnt that life is short and it’s important to maintain friendships with everybody. I developed a good bond with all my co-stars in the film.”

When asked about speculations surrounding director Anees Bazmee recreating a yesteryear track for her in the film, she says, “It’s great if you heard that,” adding, “In the past as well, directors and producers have incorporated songs only for me. It feels great to know that they believe in me. When Anees ji told me he would be remaking an iconic song from ChaalBaaz (1989), which featured Sridevi ma’am, I was overjoyed. Not many people know that I’m a big fan of hers. It’s a tribute to her from me.”

Talking about working with Anil Kapoor, she says excitedly, “He fills up the entire set with so much positivity. Every actor should work with him at least once in their lifetime. You get to learn so many things from him. He’s an amazing human being who supports upcoming talent. My younger brother is a pilot and lives in Portugal. He was overjoyed when he found out that I had signed a film with Anil sir.”

Urvashi says she wants to be known as an established comic actor as humour comes naturally to her. “Apart from gymnastics and action sequences, they’ll see me doing comedy for the first time. I want to be like Sridevi ma’am, Madhuri (Dixit Nene) and Juhi Chawla. I believe I’m a comedienne in real life. I love making fun of myself. And making others laugh makes me happy. I love bringing joy to people’s lives,” she says.

So, what’s next for this actor? “I want to break Anil sir’s record of doing 13 films with Anees ji,” Urvashi signs off with a hearty laugh.