The actress talks about the projects she was working on when the Coronavirus lockdown was announced, and how she has been dealing with this phase of being homebound
Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; April 22, 2020)

Reportedly, you were planning to complete six films by the end of the year, including a thriller in Tamil. Did you ever fear a burnout situation?
So far, I have not felt a burnout, but this lockdown has helped me take it slow. I chose my projects with a lot of excitement and love for the subject and the people I was teaming up with. When everything opens up, ideally, we’ll try and wrap up Haseen Dillruba first because 90 per cent of it has been shot. The tougher part will be to reschedule Rashmi Rocket, Shabaash Mithu and Looop Lapeta. When the lockdown set in, I was a month away from achieving the ideal physique for Rashmi Rocket. We had to shoot in Bhuj, but May and June will be too hot there. So, we will have to wait for an ideal weather window.

Were you training rigorously for Rashmi Rocket, which is based on a (fictional) female athlete from Gujarat?
I was being coached by four trainers, simultaneously. While one taught me how to sprint like a track athlete, the other trained me to get the ripped body of a professional sprinter. A nutritionist was helping me with an organic diet plan, while a physio helped me stay injury-free during this process. All this came to a sudden halt. I will have to restart this journey almost from scratch.

Thappad was still in theatres when the lockdown set in...
It looked like we were going to have a good run in the third week, too. We had even planned a success party for it. But a pandemic like this is so huge. You can always make another movie and earn what you couldn’t this time.

Lastly, how have you been spending time indoors, given that you’re always on the move?
My sister and I are in Mumbai, while the rest of the family is in Delhi. We’re not brats, but cooking was not something that we had done while growing up. If I had it my way, I would have skipped it even now, but since I don’t have house-help around at this time, we have to do it. I’ve been watching online videos for recipes. Other than that, I want to brush up my Tamil and Telugu, and read all my pending scripts.