Her last few offerings have rarely allowed her to go beyond the glamorous girl image. Which is why when Ek Villain Returns came her way, Disha Patani grabbed it with both hands. Is a grey role out of her comfort zone? Sure. But the actor reveals that she thoroughly relished the idea of essaying a female antagonist in the John Abraham, Arjun Kapoor and Tara Sutaria-starrer.

“It’s not about women or men; we all have grey shades in us. It’s important for cinema to [reflect] that there can’t be only [all-white] heroes and heroines. No man or woman is always good,” she says.

Mohit Suri’s directorial venture is a sequel to Sidharth Malhotra and Shraddha Kapoor’s hit, Ek Villain (2014). In the upcoming thriller that focuses on a serial killer who attacks women, Patani plays the greed-driven Rasika. “She believes that greed is good. She has certain requirements in life, and uses men [to achieve them].”

Understanding her character’s motivations was the first step to playing it sincerely. “If you don’t relate to the part, you can’t play it. I wanted to be sure that I was going in the right direction. I saw several films [belonging to the genre], and tried to be honest to the role. Mohit helped me throughout. I was always unsure about giving my shot.”