Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; March 3, 2020)

In her brief career so far, Radhika Madan has chosen roles that can’t be stereotyped, like the girl with stained teeth, excess weight and dyed hair in Pataakha or the quirky character who is a misfit in her circles, in Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota. Ahead of the release of her third film, director Homi Adajania’s Angrezi Medium where she plays Irrfan’s daughter, she talks to BT about why this will be an unforgettable film for her and how actors need to break away from the mindset of looking conventionally good in every frame and every role. Excerpts:

The dad-daughter chemistry you share with Irrfan in Angrezi Medium is quite endearing. Given that this is only your third film, was it intimidating to share screen space with a globally-acclaimed actor like Irrfan?
I still can’t believe that it has happened. After seeing the trailer of the film, I had tears in my eyes. When Homi (Adjania) showed it to me at a party, nothing registered as much as the last 10 seconds, which shows my name appearing along with that of Irrfan sir, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Pankaj Tripathi and Deepak Dobriyal.

Those 10 seconds made me realise that I am indeed living my dream. When I was working on the film, I would hang out on the sets even when I was not needed, because I didn’t want to miss a chance to observe so many good actors in one frame and learn from them.

How was your bonding with Irrfan on the set? Did you find it easy to relate to him as a father?
Well, I became an actor by chance, after I was spotted on social media. When I got past the auditions, it was my father who helped me achieve what I set out to do. While my mother worried about me being a part of the industry, my father stood by me like Irrfan sir does in this film for his daughter. My dad booked us flight tickets to Mumbai. While I would attend narrations, he would wait outside. Till that point in my life, I had never thought that I would become an actor. And when I got the chance to be one, my father never questioned my decision. When I started shooting, he went house hunting to ensure that I have a roof over my head here. It’s surreal how life gave me a chance to experience those emotions again with Irrfan sir.

In comparison to your roles in Pataakha and Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, was Tarika in Angrezi Medium simpler for you to pull off?
On the contrary, it has been my toughest role so far because Tarika is totally unlike me. I’m sure when people see the film, they won’t know the effort it took for me to be that person. When we started the pre-production work, I just couldn’t crack the voice of my character. I wasn’t sounding like her. I went to Udaipur with Homi and there, I hung out with girls who were 16-17 years old. In fact, I told them to spread the word that I was seeking admission in one of their schools, just to know how the boys would react. I’ve studied at Delhi Public School and the students there have a different mindset from those in English medium schools in Udaipur. I wanted to understand what these kids think about studying abroad or about having relationships. I wanted to crack their demeanour and the way they speak to their elders and among themselves.

Over the last two-three years, newcomers in Bollywood have increasingly begun to take the experimental route. They seem to pick roles that break away from conventional characters. What do you think drives your peers and you to do that?
It’s got to do with the fact that we, as an audience, wouldn’t watch the same thing again and again. We no longer want to see an actor play the same role repeatedly. It doesn’t work. For example, when you talk about the girl next door, there are so many kinds of girls next door. I understand that filmmakers want young energy and a peppy vibe, but that’s not the only kind of young girl that exists. As an actor, I don’t want to be put in a box. We become actors because we want to live many lives, we’re not happy living just one. It doesn’t matter how tough it is. We have to let go of this mindset that we’re pretty, aur abhi toh mere paas age hai. So, let me do things that make me look nice and ek fan base banati hoon. Acting baad mein kar loongi, pehle national crush ban jaaoon. I want to become an actor first, star to desh bana hi dega. If I become a star eventually, I will know that it didn’t happen by fluke or by chance, and that I deserve it. I don’t want overnight success, because then, it will make me doubt if I deserve it. I have not given the audience enough yet.

In an industry which is highly competitive, it is tough to find your ground, especially when you are not doing a few typical Bollywood movies or are focused on, like you said, “building a fan base” quickly.
In my case, the credit for that goes to Vishal Bhardwaj and Vasan Bala (the directors of Pataakha and Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, respectively). They laid the foundation for this thought process. As a girl born into a regular Delhi household, I grew up watching the usual commercial Hindi fare, where heroines shoot their debut scenes on hill tops and make an entry with their hair flying in the air. So, you have this fixation about playing a leading lady. Vishal sir and Vasan sir broke that image for me and shattered my inhibitions to pieces. The concern about looks stems from insecurity at some level. Art gives you the confidence to hold your own. That confidence and talent are not temporary, your looks are. I felt sexy and stunning even with stained teeth, excess weight and dyed hair in Pataakha, which is very close to my heart. Who looks like that in their debut film? People may wonder, but they don’t know what I learnt in the process. Vasan sir told me that I will learn action and do it without a body double in Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota. He also said, ‘Tumhare baal udenge, lekin tab jab tum action kar rahi hongi, you won’t be the hero’s fantasy’. The directors that I worked with made me believe that I should focus on my art and craft, and not my looks.

Do you think youngsters today are caught in this web of looking a certain way or being a certain size?
It’s the era of social media and influencers. We need to be kind to ourselves and others around us. We need to tell youngsters that they don’t need to look a certain way and that it’s cool to be yourself because no one else can be you. We get influenced so much by personalities, especially actors’ personalities. If someone says that I want to be like you, I tell them to be themselves instead. You can be inspired by people’s ethics, their sense of dress or how they conduct themselves and adapt it to the environment. But you don’t have to become their clone. There’s no point in chasing a certain shape, size, hair colour or lip contour. This obsession with looking a certain way comes from what’s being fed to youngsters through different media. We need to tell our youngsters that it’s one thing to be inspired and another to be influenced. You don’t need superficial appendages to look beautiful. If you love yourself, you will stop feeling the need for approval from others around you.