Every actor will tell you that immersing themselves fully into a role is the only way to do justice to it. When I Love You came her way, Rakul Preet Singh knew that playing Satya, a headstrong woman with dark shades to her, won’t be a cakewalk. But shooting for the romantic thriller — also starring Pavail Gulati and Akshay Oberoi — was tougher than she thought. To her, it’s “the toughest film” of her career so far.

Through the Jio Cinema offering, director Nikhil Mahajan explores how love, when veers into obsession, can wreak havoc in one’s life. Singh says that Mahajan had charted out a straight 15-day schedule in December to shoot the emotionally complex scenes. Soon, the shoot started taking a toll on her.

“Three days into the shoot, I couldn’t sleep at night. I had 14-hour days where I had to sleep at 12 am and wake up at 5 am, but I couldn’t sleep in those five hours. I took melatonin [supplements] to relax, but they didn’t help. Then I started throwing up, and could eat only khichdi. After about 10 days of this ordeal, I spoke to my doctor and nutritionist. [The latter] told me that my body was in panic mode, and it was reacting to the emotions I felt as Satya.”

After wrapping up the schedule, Singh took a break as per the nutritionist’s recommendation. “She told me I needed to disconnect before it gave rise to graver health issues. I went to a resort for three days. I needed a change of environment, and my body needed to disconnect. After this episode, I became more conscious of [how roles can take a toll]. Thereon, I would actively switch on and off from my character.”

Singh admits the character is a departure from the girl-next-door roles that she has done. She says it’s a conscious decision to add complex parts to her résumé. “When I started out with Yaariyan [2014], I was a kid who didn’t know the process of filmmaking. As you evolve, you get a better understanding of what you’d like to do. I want to be a better version of myself with every film.”