There’s no denying that the journey in showbiz has been an uphill climb for Mouni Roy. She made her debut on television and then became synonymous with her characters in Devon Ke Dev... Mahadev and Naagin. Post which, she ventured into films to never look back. Her latest offering, Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva, showcased the actor as the vengeful and dark character Junoon, who would go to any lengths for her master, Deva. While the film was panned by critics for its subpar plot, half-baked characters, and lacklustre dialogues, Roy received a lot of love.

In conversation with mid-day, the actor decodes her role as an antagonist, who garnered more mileage than Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt combined. “I have never had a reaction like this towards my work. It is gratifying [to see] the acceptance that the audience has given me,” begins Roy.

While confident in her performance, the actor was not without apprehensions, especially when Roy was required to converse in pure Hindi and wear “outlandish garb”. “I was extremely skeptical about talking in shudh Hindi and the whole look and feel of the character,” says the actor, who was unsure whether the audience would accept her character in a contemporary setup.

Accepting that movies have rarely explored strong female antagonist characters, Roy is thrilled that makers are “writing author-backed roles for women. This is a good time to be an actor.”

Crediting Mukerji for his vision for Junoon and for breaking down the role for her, she says she had to unlearn a lot of things before getting into character, “We didn’t want her to be caricaturish. Ayan was clear that Junoon had to have a quiet confidence without screaming or shouting. She had to evoke fear [by relying on] the power inside her. My character had to remember that everything that happened around her, did not matter, as long as she was connected with Brahmadev.”

Irrespective of how short or long the character is, Roy wanted to be part of projects where her “role added depth and served the story”. A lesson she has been honing since her television days. Having seen both the good and bad times in showbiz, and emerging strong, Roy is clear that, “There [has been] a period when [I was] not getting work or struggling to do the next thing, or feeling like [I have been] typecast because of TV. [At such times], you just have to wait it out and have faith. There is no shortcut to hard work.”