Deepika padukone gehraiyaan

Madhureeta Mukherjee (BOMBAY TIMES; February 9, 2022)

We have witnessed many shades of Deepika Padukone unfold on screen — glamourous, romantic, brave, real and royal. And every time, she comes shining through, revealing yet another facet of her talent and her willingness to wade through unvisited territories as an actor. Even if that means going into the deep end, Deepika takes the plunge. With Gehraiyaan, releasing on Amazon Prime Video on February 11, she is taking one of her deepest outings ever. In a conversation with us, she talks about her fascination for relatable stories, what prompts actors to make brave choices, and how we are constantly finding ourselves in everything that we do. Deep, huh? Read on...

You have featured in films like Cocktail and Tamasha, where relationships and love have been explored, but not entirely in the conventional way. Now,we will see you in Gehraiyaan, about which you have said, ‘This is my first of its kind.’ Would you say that you get drawn to subjects that delve into this space with a certain honesty and realism, while breaking barriers on various levels?
I think with Gehraiyaan, I really wanted to work with Shakun Batra and that was the starting point for me. Beyond that, even while growing up, I was drawn to stories that were more relatable and realistic. I think it comes from my fascination with everything that is as close to real life as possible. Even if I am sitting at home and watching a film on OTT, I am more likely to watch something like this versus maybe a fantastical sort of film. In my 15-year-long career, I have done all sorts of films — from a Chennai Express and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani to Piku and now Gehraiyaan, and of course, I enjoy all of them, but this genre, specifically, where characters are true to life has a special place in my heart.

You have also played characters that are set in a certain period, which are intense — with the heavy costumes, dance sequences and extensive scenes. While a part like that has its own challenges, would you agree that a role like this one is more internal and intimate, and is set in a space where you can draw from your own life experiences?
That’s the process of an actor. I think you live life and when you are given certain characters, you draw from various experiences. I think that is the natural process of acting. Sure, there are times you don’t relate to certain situations and characters, but that’s your job as an actor — to make it believable, authentic, real and humanise a character.

There will be times when you will get roles and characters that you can relate to, and there will be times you won’t. It certainly comes from a place of different experiences, and not just relationships. It’s not that just because I am doing a relationship drama, I am drawing from my relationships, or necessarily past romantic relationships. You draw from life. Hence, I feel it is important for actors to lead a life that is full of different kinds of experiences, and eventually, from some of that experience, engagement or interaction with someone, you can draw bits and pieces and put them into the work you do.

Shakun Batra roped in intimacy director Dar Gai, who was present on the shoot. Elaborating on that process, during my chat with him, he explained that it is literally about creating a space where people can openly talk about it, as opposed to being shy. How much of that effort, which is a first of its kind for our cinema, helped you pull off this character?
Yes, it is the first time an Indian film is doing something like this, but at the same time, at least in my head, it’s not such a big deal that we have an intimacy coordinator. If we were shooting a song sequence, we would have a choreographer, likewise, if we were shooting an action sequence, we would have an action director on set. So, if we are doing a film that has intimacy, you are going to have an intimacy director on board. So, for me, it’s not any different from any other sort of specialization that you need to bring on to make the characters and story as relatable as possible. But of course, you feel safer. Once you know what you are comfortable with, it’s easier during execution.

Given that this is a zone you have never stepped into before, and given how intimate the story is in the way it is narrated, what was your first reaction when you read the script?
When Shakun narrated the script to me in London (where we were shooting for 83), I remember allowing it to sink in. It’s not that I haven’t played similar characters before, like Veronica in Cocktail, and Piku, which was even closer to real life. However, this was far more nuanced and layered. So, it took me a while to commit to, as I knew that this would take a lot of my mental and emotional energy. But I remember being fascinated by the story. Well, the story has also evolved from there. When you make stories like this, it’s not like a biopic where you don’t have much room to play. In films like this, where the characters are real, you can always tweak, add and refine it. The script that I had heard two years ago was slightly different, we added a lot more layers to it and worked on it during the lockdown when we had time on our hands. I remember falling in love with my character.

The film has an interesting mix of actors — Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday and Dhairya Karwa — a fairly new bunch of talent who are in awe of you. Something that they even spoke about in their interviews. How did the equation warm-up on set, as it is evident that the characters needed to share a certain kind of chemistry and warmth?
It was certainly something that I was cognisant of, as at any point, I didn’t want to make any of them feel intimidated or threatened. In fact, I gave Shakun the idea that we all go to Goa earlier and hang out, get to know each other and keep reading the script, as it is the kind of film where the relationships feel extremely real and organic. I would like to believe that I made them feel as comfortable as possible and not think of me with any preconceived idea of who I am. And to sort of connect with me the person, instead of the idea of me that they might have.

Did you do anything specific to help them open up, ease their pressure, or just be able to connect with you?
No, not really. Also, I am not the kind of person who walks into a movie set with the feeling that you have to take me seriously or that I am this actor with 15 years’ experience. I would like to believe that I don’t carry that kind of energy, whether it is on set, or while hanging out before or after shoot, or even during prep. I wanted them to embrace the person that I was. A large part of me is also like that, as I like being very normal. In my routine and the way I am, there are no frills. So, I didn’t have to do anything different. I was just being who I am.

In recent times, we are gradually seeing a shift where various such shades of relationships — complex, confusing, deep, fragile, dark — are being depicted in our cinema and our filmmakers are not as fearful of digging deeper into the human psyche and reflecting the same in their stories. Do you think this change has come about with the evolution in the audience’s choices or that new-age filmmakers now have the courage to venture into these spaces?
I think it is the audience that is giving us cues and telling us that we are ready for content that we haven’t seen before. I am certainly taking my cues from the audience. In fact, I feel they often shun the predictable and the obvious, and they are constantly searching for something new and different. I think that is where actors, directors and writers today are getting the confidence to go ahead with their ideas and being brave in making those decisions and choices.

The pandemic has changed so much for so many people around the world. How much has life and the kind of choices you make for yourself changed — professionally and personally?
The choices I make as an actor haven’t really changed. I was doing this film even pre-pandemic. The difference is that today we can release a film like this on OTT because there has been a boom in the last two years. So, was India headed there anyway like the West was? Certainly, but I think the pandemic only accelerated the growth of the OTT space in India. We didn’t set out thinking this film would be an OTT release, it was meant to be a theatrical release. When we started out two-and-half years ago, no one was thinking of OTT in that sense. I remember doing a meeting with Karan Johar (producer of Gehraiyaan) as he thought that I would resist it. I know he wanted to meet me to convince me, and he was pleasantly surprised when the meeting got done in 30 seconds. He said that he believed that this film was best for an OTT release. I told him, ‘Karan, even I have come here to tell you that this film is best for OTT.’ I would have done this film anyway, so I don’t think the choices have changed. On a personal level, of course, a lot has changed for a lot of people, like the fragility of life and the uncertainty of it all. Now we are more about living in the moment, gratitude and work-life balance. It has opened up people’s minds to a lot more. It’s been extremely rough on people around the world, but hopefully, there is only something to learn from this.

Gehraiyaan also speaks about how we are in many ways continuously finding ourselves. Do you see that process, that kind of evolution happening in your life and relationships continuously?
Of course, we are constantly finding ourselves in everything that we do. In different experiences, relationships, and sometimes, even in crisis situations, you learn so much about yourself and the people around you. So yes, the journey ought to be like that, otherwise, you are going to stagnate, if you are not going to look inwards, learn, grow and evolve.

Do you think this film will pave the way for more mature stories that can be told with sophistication and realism?
Hopefully, people will continue to tell the stories that they want to. Firstly, the audience is ready for it, secondly, you have umpteen number of platforms to tell these stories. I hope people tell the stories that are in their hearts without fear.