Mrunal Thakur on her dream run at the movies and playing Shahid Kapoor’s better half, mother to a young boy in the Jersey remake
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 2, 2020)

Mrunal Thakur admits that 2019 was a dream year for her. The actress grabbed eyeballs with her performances in Super 30, a biopic on math whiz Anand Kumar, and the cop-drama Batla House. She is still in touch with both her co-stars, Hrithik Roshan and John Abraham respectively, who are very encouraging and appreciative of her work. “I can’t believe, it’s almost a year since I shot for both films,” Mrunal admits, adding that after the encouraging reviews, the responsibility of delivering consistently has increased.

The actress has two sports-dramas coming up this year—the first one being the official remake of Nani’s Telugu hit, Jersey, with Shahid Kapoor. “He’s a sweetheart and always supportive,” says Mrunal, who has watched the original and now, when on the set, is often consulted by the director for inputs.

The Gowtam Tinnanuri directorial sees the protagonist—a retired cricketer trying to make it to the national teamage from his early 20s to mid-30s. Shahid and Mrunal play parents to a young boy and the actress is unfazed by the prospect of on-screen motherhood. “I’ve met girls who had kids in their early 20s. Even I played a mom of two in a commercial when I was 18. It’s just acting,” she says nonchalantly.

There’s also Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Toofaan, which features Farhan Akhtar as a boxer and Mrunal as his ladylove. “We shot most of the film in one go in Mumbai so the flow wouldn’t break,” she informs. “My character has a certain graph, and music is helping me prep.” The song “Her Grace” by Maverick Sabre allows her to live out the character and underlines the film’s vibe. “Music is my biggest weapon on a set,” she says, acknowledging that the challenge while juggling Jersey and Toofan was to make both characters distinctly different. “It’s tough to do one thing in different ways.”

The actress ends the year with a quirky comedy, Umesh Shukla’s Aankh Micholi, which rides on an ensemble cast, including Paresh Rawal, Abhimanyu Dassani, Sharman Joshi and Divya Dutta. “We completed the film in two chunks, in Europe and Patiala. It’s a fun film where characters with great flaws come together under one roof. Watch out for our mad house,” she signs off with a laugh.