Actress Aahana Kumra is known for her out-of-the-box choices when it comes to films and speaking her mind. The Lipstick Under My Burkha and Khuda Haafiz actress was in Kolkata on Saturday and did touristy things in the city. CT caught up with her about her impromptu visit, her love for theatre, films and more. Excerpts.

Aahana had posted her Kolkata pictures with a caption quoting Amitabh Bachchan ‘if one needs inspiration, one should come to Kolkata’.

“The simplicity of the city really inspires me,” said the India Lockdown actress. “I have many friends here and just love the city. The beauty of Kolkata also lies in the fact that the city never changes, I have been coming here for 20 years now,” she said. Actor Chandan Roy Sanyal, who is shooting in Kolkata invited her over.

“He invited me to have lunch with him and Tony da (Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury), said the actress. “Everyone from the set of their next movie was there too. I loved the fact that the food I had on set was home cooked,” said Aahana who enjoyed a hearty meal of Kolkata-style fish and mutton on set.

“Many big films don’t work because the Indian audience has become very smart now, they want fresh and original content and cannot be fooled,” said Kumra, adding, “We have a lot of stories to tell, we just need to look into our periphery and not imitate the West. We need to make more heartland movies and Bengali cinema is doing that. It is the everyday stories that people connect with. If we look at India’s feat at the Cannes, it is these stories that made it to the global platform."

“Both theatre and movies have given me immense love and an understanding of my profession. Theatre is just like life, it doesn’t give you a second chance. But then it is also about how you accept, adapt and move on. Theatre also helps you connect with the audience. Kolkata has the best audience I have ever seen in my life.”

Aahana believes, the beauty of cinema lies in its simplicity, and Satyajit Ray and other Bengali filmmakers aced this art. “When at film school, I watched the Apu trilogy and was awe struck by the simplicity of the film and Ray. Charulata, Aparajito, are stories that stay with you,” said Kumra, adding, “Now we aren’t making movies that can become classics. We’re just wound up in numbers.”

“My Kolkata visit happened under funny circumstances. I was shooting in Goa and was supposed to be here for a play but the play got cancelled last minute but I decided to come down anyway as I love being in the city,” she said.

Like a true tourist, the actress loves all things Kolkata, heritage eateries included. “I love being on Park Street because of Mocambo and Peter Cat there. I love Chelo kebab. I went sari shopping and love the handloom here,” she added.

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“I went to Kalighat on Saturday afternoon. It was raining that time and it felt so good and peaceful”

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“I’d love to work with Shoojit Sircar & Tony da. I’d have loved to work with Pradeep Sarkar but sadly that cannot happen. Films like Parineeta aren’t made everyday”

The holiday season is upon us, and we spotted actor Aahana Kumra on the bustling streets of Bandra, Mumbai, during the Christmas week. Kumra, dressed in a white outfit, looked like a child in a candy store, exhilarated by the decor. “I haven’t done this in years,” Kumra says, revealing that her enthusiasm for the festival stems from her Christian nanny. “She was like my mother. She used to take me to church every Sunday. Also, when I moved to Mumbai, I was surrounded by the Catholic community. So, I’ve always been excited about Christmas,” explains the Call My Agent: Bollywood actor.

As she skimmed through the dense Christmas trees, Kumra confessed that she is “very big on decorating” her house. “Everyone in my house is aware that the Christmas tree is put up several weeks before the holiday. My decorations are on point, and I’m obsessed with them,” she grins and adds that even though she hasn’t gone street shopping in a while, she isn’t new to it: “I have always loved street shopping, and I knew exactly how much a T-shirt would cost in which shop. My mother’s office was in Colaba. So, after college, my friends and I would go to Colaba to shop. For Christmas, we all knew we had to go to Bandra.”

Conservation comes to a halt when the actor, like the rest of us, is exasperated when a shopkeeper tells her the exorbitant price of a Christmas tree. “Okay, I’m bad at bargaining [now],” she laughs.

Kumra goes on to reveal that she will spend Christmas in Kashmir this year. But she doesn’t forget to mention that, despite her absence, she has decorated her house and tree for the holidays, and will be relishing a gorgeous plum cake. She shares, “I am spending Christmas in Gulmarg in the middle of the snow, skiing. Also, for the first time in my life, I spent Christmas Eve on a houseboat.”

When asked what she wants for Christmas, Kumra declares: “A sports film! I’ve been manifesting it for a long time, and I hope it transpires this year. Something that will change the game for me.”

In a series of articles starting today, BT will give you an inside view of the life and journey of people from the film industry who are often perceived as ‘outsiders’. What are their aspirations, struggles, trials and triumphs? Let’s hear it from them...
Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; June 18, 2020)

About a year ago, actress Aahana Kumra, in a heartfelt conversation with us, had spoken about the low and dark phase in her life. She had also admitted how it had let to thoughts of suicide.

Recalling that rough patch, the Lipstick Under My Burkha actress, who hails from Lucknow, said, “About five years ago, I was disillusioned by the culture of Bollywood, and there was no one to pull me out of it. I was on the verge of suicide, because this culture is normalised by certain people. I was losing my sanity in a bid to become a film heroine. I couldn’t live with who I was anymore, and I started questioning myself about who I had become. I was not what my parents expected me to be. It has taken a lot for me to come out of it.”

While the actress is now in a better place mentally, the professional struggle continues. However, Sushant Singh Rajput’s sudden death by suicide has completely shaken her up. “I didn’t know Sushant personally, but his death has given me a jolt. It gave me a reality check, and made me rethink my decision of becoming an actor,” she shared.

Elaborating on the current raging discussion on the ‘insider - outsider’ theory in Bollywood, she said, “In showbiz, you will be spoken to if you are successful. You start looking at yourself through their perception of you, and you don’t like what you see. You feel left out, so it’s good to have a life beyond films. In the past few days, I have read about so many people saying, ‘We will hear you’. Let me tell you, people don’t even respond to text messages if you ask them to watch your show, let alone appreciate it. There’s no acknowledgment and people blatantly look through you. I never get a call for the audition of a big film. I have made peace with the fact that they don’t know you, so they won’t call you. We don’t even get to know when the casting happens. Even outsiders don’t help outsiders once they become insiders. You have no help or guidance, and so, at some point, you are bound to feel lost. Today, I am doing roles that have some substance, but my chances of being a heroine in my 20s have gone.”

The actress cannot stress enough on the importance of having a solid support system. She explained, “If it wasn’t for my parents or college friends, I doubt I would have survived that phase. You do feel that they won’t understand you, they will judge you and the world is against you, but it’s not like that. Family will always stand by you. Talking to Naseeruddin Shah, who I consider as one of my mentors, also helped a lot.”

Aahana said that over time, she has distanced herself from people who were detrimental to her mental well-being and added to her anguish during the bad phase in her life. “I have no friends in the film industry. I have colleagues and it’s fine, it’s all very transactional. You don’t want to reach out, because not everyone is entitled to know about your life. In the time of crisis, I talk to people who I have grown up with. Even social media is a facade. It’s a place where you show your happy face to sell products. I started off with bitter experiences in my career and I have forgiven people who have wronged me. Huge expectations also lead to massive heartbreaks. What I have learnt is that, while you can speak your mind, you cannot talk without measuring your words. I also feel that we can be kinder to people than we usually are,” she concluded.

Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; May 19, 2020)

Actor Aahana Kumra is happy to be reunited with her parents, after nearly two months of being separated due to the lockdown. She shared the news on Instagram, posting a picture with her mother who drove from one part of Mumbai to the other and back, to bring Kumra home.

Revealing the sequence of events, she tells us, “In March, I had gone to my sister’s place in Ghatkopar, from Andheri where I live with my parents. I was going to stay there for a week, when suddenly the lockdown was announced.”

Kumra couldn’t even drive back to her house as she didn’t have her car with her. “My driver had dropped me off at my sister’s place. I’d think every day, ‘Today I’ll surely leave’ but that went on for two months. My sister is a working mother, and she’s got a three-year-old child. It’s quite a handful for young parents — they have to work from home, which is a joke as it means no fixed working hours,” says Kumra. Hence, she was helping her sister with household chores. “My parents are above 65, I didn’t want them to drive all the way to pick me up. Dad said he’ll come, but he had undergone three surgeries last year, and my mom isn’t confident about driving. But eventually, she made up her mind, and took permission to come and pick me up,” shares the 33-year-old.

Making things tougher was the fact that the building where her parents stay had been sealed due to a Coronavirus case. “But she forgot everything when we reached home. She was like, ‘Yoga karte hain’. It’s good to see my parents. They were all alone, though having a cook was a big help. They missed having me around, I bring a lot of noise into the house!” Kumra quips.

Sammohinee Ghosh (HINDUSTAN TIMES; March 12, 2020)

Primarily known for her roles in movies such as Lipstick Under My Burkha (2017) and The Accidental Prime Minister (2019), actor Aahana Kumra made her acting debut in 2009. And since then, she has worked in a number of web shows and even theatre plays. The actor was recently seen in the play Dekh Behen which was part of The Great Indian Theatre Festival, and says that she loves working in women-led projects. “There is always food on the set. There’s nothing like being part of an all-female cast. All of us love to eat and we have a bountiful spread. It is lovely to have so many women around. Each one of us has immense potential and apart from being friends or co-actors, we look up to one another,” says Kumra, reinstating faith in healthy women camaraderie.

Giving us a peek into her part in the play, she says, “My character, Trisha, is the binding element in the story. She is not judgmental, is unmarried, and is unabashed about her choices. She somehow holds the other characters together.”

The actor adds, while on the face of it the conversations are hilarious, they constantly nudge at socially potent issues. “I think Dilshad (Dilshad Edibam Khurana) and Tahira (Tahira Nath) — the writers of the play — have come up with an intelligent plot. The script is clever; you laugh along until it hits you that reality is no different,” she adds.

Ask her about the current theatre scene in the country and Kumra shares how the introduction of other platforms, leaves the stage with only a handful of players. According to the actor, OTT platforms and the big screen are undoubtedly important, but coming back to theatre hones ones flair in strange ways. “My speech is precise and since I am relentlessly showing up at rehearsals, I unconsciously discipline myself. There are no retakes and that is where spontaneous ideation or even, team spirit comes into play,” the actor shares.

On stage directors that she has always wanted to work with, Manav Kaul is pretty high up on the list. “I really wonder why he never casts me in any of his plays. The next play I plan to watch is Giving Up On Godot. I would also like to work with Mohit Takalkar,” she signs off.

Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; November 1, 2018)

In the wake of the #MeToo movement taking the nation and the entertainment world by storm, film, television and theatre actress, Aahana Kumra opens up on what it takes for a girl with no filmi background to find her voice in Bollywood and about the storms she must brave to become an actor. In a heartfelt chat, the Lipstick Under My Burkha actress talks about the tumultuous early years of her acting career, what drove her to the point of almost ending her life, owing to the murky power-play by certain people in the film industry and how she overcame it all. Excerpts…

You are one of the most outspoken actors around. Did your life experiences and struggles shape your thinking and make you the brave woman that you are today?
I am a different person today. About five years ago, I was disillusioned by this culture of Bollywood, and there was no one to pull me out of it. I was on the verge of committing suicide, because this culture is so normalised by certain people. I couldn’t live with who I was anymore. I started questioning myself about who I had become. I was not what my parents expected me to be. It has taken me a lot to come out of it.

What really went wrong?
When you start working as a professional, you tend to get sucked into a group of people who do the kind of things that you are not conditioned to do. Then, you become a different human being. I will not deny the fact that I was in bad company. I had to consciously steer away from it, as I realised that it will take me down badly. There were some people from a known production house, who were part of my circle, but today, they are not my friends anymore. In college, guys were scared to talk to me, also because my mom is a cop. A guy touching me inappropriately was something I could never handle. When I came in to the industry, my principles were shaken. One day, I sat myself down in my bedroom and deleted all the blocked numbers. Till date, these people cannot contact me. These are big names! Directors, ADs, producers. I never aspired to be TV actor, but I choose to do a TV show called Agent Raghav just to retain my sanity. I told myself that I will work and make a living without letting anyone feel that ‘she is so desperate that she will do anything for work’. In this industry, people can smell desperation. They do talk like that and I have heard people say these things about me. I told myself I won’t do it anymore. I hosted Kabaddi on TV. I did everything that I never imagined myself doing.

At what point did you think that the relationships that you had forged with some people in the industry were getting toxic? What was the turning point?
You party with them, you drink with them and you indulge in things that they do. Since, everyone around you is doing it… you are made to feel like it is normal. You get drunk, talk inappropriate things, behave inappropriately and touch each other weirdly. After a point, you don’t want to be a part of that space, and I have been there. I had a discussion with my parents where I confided in them. I think they were supremely supportive. It was my mother who told me, ‘Why don’t you do a TV serial?’ She saw that I was losing my sanity in order to become a ‘movie heroine’. I am sorry to say this, but this is what most women go through to become a ‘heroine’. You tend to start believing that this process is normal. It isn’t.

When you reached that point when you realised that you don’t ‘want to be part of that space’, what helped you get out of it?
It was like a switch for me. An actor is an actor. This was the conversation I had with Naseer sir (Naseeruddin Shah, whom she considers her mentor). He once told me, ‘have dignity of labour’. He asked me to respect the work I was offered and reminded me that, ‘If you are a good actor, you will be pulled out and given an opportunity’. TV actors are getting big films, too, and I was narrowing down my options in a bid to make it big as a movie star. I have promised myself that, I will work for every single day of my life and I won’t depend on one person to give me a job. There’s not just one production house who is making different kind of cinema. The moment you realise there are more options out there, you take their power away. Make yourself so good at your craft that people cannot ignore you.

Unfortunately, there are some people in the industry who are not looking for talent alone...
I was replaced at the last minute from a recent (commercial Bollywood action film) by another new actress, because apparently, the lead hero preferred her. It was extremely unprofessional. When I passed out of film school, I had no contacts but I was principled and believed that people will offer me roles on the basis of my talent. But that’s not how it always works here. There was no one waiting to launch me. You have to network, be in people’s good books, flash a smile and look pretty at all times. Also, how many roles are written for women in the Hindi film industry, anyway? Here, no one messes with star kids because it’s the privilege they get. They choose their directors, scripts and producers. If I turn down a script, I may not get any work after that. In this industry, it’s not easy for girls who don’t have any financial backing to be fearless. Eight girls stay in one house, stand in queue for hours with make-up, for one audition, where casting directors talk to you the way they want to, because they are in a position of power. Every day you are told you are fat, ugly and terrible. You start questioning yourself as an actor and it’s a massive blow to your self-esteem.

No aspiring actress escapes inappropriate advances, does she?
People tell you things like, ‘acting ke upar dhyaan mat do. Just take care of your looks.’ These are big directors who have already been outed. Sajid Khan once messaged me, ‘Oh, you can look hot in a bikini also!’ I think it shocked him that I could look good in a bikini. This was after our meeting. Talent managers like Anirban Das Blah speak horribly to aspiring actresses. What is wrong with these men? A handful of directors feel that inhi logon ke paas kaam hai (only they have the power to give people work). Phantom dissolved the company citing various issues, weren’t they aware of what was happening in it? We should not pass the buck. We are all responsible. Anirban Blah met me at the lobby of a five star hotel and said, ‘There’s a room here. Let’s negotiate there.’ I walked out of that meeting because I wasn’t comfortable. It didn’t go down well with me. That’s ‘normal’ conversation he has with women. The day I chatted with him, I was shaken.

For a newcomer, what are the warning signs?
Always take someone with you, especially if you are meeting someone you don’t know. People cracking a lewd sexist joke, sending you an inappropriate emoji or message, touching you inappropriately — those are the signs that a person is not interested in your work. There was a big director who kept asking me if I had a boyfriend. I was new at that time. He told me come dressed as a tota (slang for hot chick). I thought maybe the role is glamorous. I left when I realised his intentions. I am glad he is nowhere today. But yes, female actors are subjected to massive scrutiny in terms of looks, age and image. After I did Lipstick... I heard, ‘Yeh toh sirf bold films karti hai’, so I only got such offers.

There has been a debate over what amounts to sexual harassment, especially if an actor knows what he or she is walking into...
I had a meeting with Sajid Khan about a year ago, knowing the fact that he is a shady guy. I met him and he did the same thing that Saloni (Chopra) has written about him. Same drill — you go to his house, you are escorted to his room which is pretty dark. He makes you watch what he’s watching. He did not make a pass at me, but he said that he wanted to get to know me. When I asked him why we can’t sit outside, he said his mother was sitting there so why trouble her. I asked him to switch on the lights of the room, which he did. You have to be assertive here. He wanted to chat with me. I told him my mom’s a police officer which I think made him behave. But he still asked me bizarre questions like, ‘Would you have sex with a dog if I gave you Rs 100 crores’? He didn’t touch me. I guess he was trying to give me gyaan on how I need to be a dumbf*** or laugh at his sexist jokes, if I wanted to be a mainstream heroine in his films. He implied that I think too much and that I am too vocal about what I think. Hence, I am not mainstream actress material. Point being, you can meet anyone, but be wise about who you work with.

Consent is also a grey area, isn’t it?
#MeToo is a campaign that speaks about harassment, but there is also a thing called consent. If a man or woman chooses to sleep with someone, and if he/she is attracted to that person and is willing to go all the way to further their career, then, for them to say that I was harassed, is wrong. It defeats the purpose of this campaign. Social media has given you a certain power and you need to use that with responsibility. It also boils down to aspiration. To what extent will you go? Do you have the talent in you? Will your talent speak for itself ? It’s not that you can’t refuse an inappropriate offer. A young girl from Jharkhand once told me, ‘Casting agents bikini pehen ke aane ko bolte hai.’ It happens! I am aware of it. I told her, make yourself so sound, be so good at your work that no one will say that take your clothes off and then I will hire you. Thanks to other mediums (apart from the big screen), actors like us can work without being in anyone’s good books. One job is leading to another job. This is taking the power away from those who exploit it. Big production houses are taking a stand and that helps. If you know that your job can be taken away, you will be more responsible.

Do you think that for a lot of women, the #MeToo movement is about making peace with themselves and getting closure?
It is. I wanted to talk about my experience with Anirban and Sajid earlier, but their stories came out, and though they tried, they couldn’t misbehave with me. Some of us are looking for a simple, ‘Sorry’. It’s not about wanting to punish someone by putting him behind bars. It is about letting people know what he/she did. Those who are guilty should accept it. I read Anirban’s letter and I am glad that at least he accepted it. Also, not all are sleazy. I have worked with a lot of good casting directors, actors and filmmakers, and a lot depends on how you conduct yourself. Your vibe attracts your tribe.

Do you think this movement will have a deeper impact on the entertainment industry?
I have gone through a terrible time and it has taken me a while to open up. When women face sexual abuse, they start feeling guilty, but today, the onus is on the man. It has taken us so long to have this conversation with our parents and most importantly, with ourselves. The #MeToo movement is great, but for it to sustain, women need to go on. You can’t be dropping charges because court ke chakkar kaun kaatega? There has to be a legal clause that safeguards women against these people. Naming and shaming is fine, but you think those who are called out won’t bounce back and return to films again? I am giving it a year to see if these people come back to where they were. Some brave women have come forward and I hope their efforts are not in vain. When some actors say, ‘We didn’t even know this happens in the film industry’, I want to ask them…what are you smoking? Just because you haven’t been through it, it does not mean that it doesn’t exist!

Lasyapriya Sundaram (BOMBAY TIMES; July 17, 2018)

Political drama, The Accidental Prime Minister is based on Sanjaya Baru’s memoir, The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh. Baru was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s media advisor for a period of four years. In the past, political dramas or films based on political figures have faced opposition from political parties. When Baru’s book hit the stands, it had to deal with bouquets as well as brickbats for the facts revealed in it.

Quiz Aahana Kumra, who plays Priyanka Gandhi in the film, about this and she says, “Any film can end up facing a backlash. My earlier film Lipstick Under My Burkha was banned though it was a purely fictional story that spoke about realities. The issues addressed in the film were problems that were faced by women all over the world. Even a film like Padmaavat faced trouble. I feel actors shouldn’t be apprehensive about working in films based on politics or political figures. I was surprised when I came to know that a film was being made on Sanjaya Baru’s book. I am happy to be playing a role that’s relevant to our times. Every film is trying to tell a story from its point of view. This film obviously is from the perspective of Sanjaya Baru. As an actor, I won’t be able to comment on whether what he has spoken about in the book is right or wrong. I am just doing my job. I can be honest to the script and the role that’s been given to me. I can’t be thinking if it is right as far representing the political scenario is concerned.”

Set to play Priyanka Gandhi in The Accidental Prime Minister, Aahana Kumra says she’s picked the politician’s nuances to add authenticity to character
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; July 3, 2018)

Having to portray a person on screen without as much as an interaction with her can be tough. But Aahana Kumra had director Vijay Gutte and producer Hansal Mehta to turn to when she struggled to ape politician Priyanka Gandhi for The Accidental Prime Minister. “They helped me understand how she must be, based on their knowledge of her, and that really helped,” says Kumra, who caught Mehta’s eye with her act in the web show, inside Edge.

“Although I had a small part in Inside Edge, it was sufficient to bag me an audition for this film. I was called to give a screen test for the role of Priyanka Gandhi. I knew I could play the part after they replicated her hairdo for me and slipped me into a saree. It was [a noteworthy] transformation, because I never thought I could look like her. Finally, I performed a scene, and they liked what i did.”

The actor, who came under the spotlight after her act in Lipstick Under My Burkha (2016), did not want her portrayal of Gandhi in the Anupam Kher starrer to seem uninteresting. “Though I haven’t had the opportunity to meet her [Gandhi], I have watched [innumerable] videos of her. The entire cast is playing roles of people who are alive, so we need to be careful. We have tried against caricaturising this character. I have tried to catch Priyanka’s nuances and replicate them in my performance.”

However, Kumra says she did not read Sanjay Baru’s book — by the same name — on which this film is based. She argues, her role had little to do with what is chronicled in the literary piece. “I will read it when I get the time,” she signs off.

The film marks Kumra’s second collaboration with Kher, who plays the role of former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh. It also features Arjun Mathur as Rahul Gandhi, and Akshaye Khanna.

Letty Mariam Abraham (MID-DAY; March 24, 2018)

It has been two years since Lipstick Under My Burkha first hit screens and garnered acclaim from viewers and critics alike. But, the film’s success hasn’t translated into better offers for Aahana Kumra, who played the role of Leela.

The actor, who has dabbled in television, theatre, web and films, says that now, every offer coming her way is reminiscent of the character she played. “Post the release of the film, there have been few offers that can be called interesting. I have to be careful about my next project, because it cannot be a frivolous one.”

Alankrita Shrivastava’s venture saw its leading ladies unabashedly explore their sexuality. Evidently, then, the film featured a fair share of explicit scenes. Kumra confesses that the projects being offered to her now require her to pull off similar sequences, but her characters lack meat. “A lot of people have offered me ‘bold characters’. But, I’ve never understood what that means. When Alankrita came to me with this role [Leela], she didn’t entice me with [explicit] scenes. She merely gave me the script, and asked me to decide if I wanted to do the film or not. I was sold on the script. I hate it when people say, ‘bada bold character hai’. They are not certain if they want me to strip naked, perform a sex scene, or simply kiss on screen. Films are decided based on scripts, not on a ‘bold’ scene that the character must perform,” she says, adding that such offers have even come from reputable filmmakers.

However, Kumra, who is currently filming the web series, It Happened In Hong Kong, has her “frank nature” to blame. “I have noticed that I’ve never managed to bag a role though auditions. Maybe, I’m too scared, or probably rub the casting directors the wrong way. But, I don’t get work through auditions.”

Aahana Kumra, who plays a small- town beautician in Lipstick Under My Burkha, opens up about her journey
Kusumita Das (MID-DAY; July 16, 2017)

She may be one of the newest crop of actors in the industry, but Aahana Kumra exudes the sure-footedness of a veteran. Having done a few indie ventures such as The Blueberry Hunt and Sona Spa, both with Naseeruddin Shan, the 32-year-old actress is now waiting for the release of the much talked-about Lipstick Under My Burkha, where she shares the screen with acting stalwarts Ratna Pathak Shah and Konkona Sen Sharma.

Kumra was, in fact, a student of Naseer and Ratna, in her Whistling Woods International days. From the classroom to the camera, she appears to have made a smooth transition. In the film, directed by Alankrita Shrivastava, she plays a small-town beautician who feels stifled in her personal and professional life, and wants to elope to a big city with her lover. The feisty role involved her engaging in several intimate scenes.

“Under the hands of a male director, this kind of material, about four women exploring their sexuality, could have easily become crass. But, when I read this script, I was blown away by the finesse with which Alankrita has handled the story and situations. Even in the indie space, such well-crafted roles are not written. I’d have been an idiot not to have taken it up,” Kumra says.

Born and brought up in Lucknow, Kumra was 13 years old when she moved to Mumbai. “My mum is a former CID officer and my dad used to work in pharmaceuticals in Moscow.” Her initial days in Mumbai were marked by long hours spent at Prithvi Theatre, assisting Sanjna Kapoor. “I had too much energy, and realised just hanging around in Prithvi, doing workshops, assisting backstage, even selling tickets, would channel that energy in the right way. It was only a matter of time that I would be drawn to the stage.” Kumra recalls herself as a hyperactive college kid. “I was into every performance platform possible.”

There was a slight U-turn she took after her graduation, when she started interning at Lowe advertising agency. But soon after, she charted her path towards Whistling Woods to begin her journey as an actor. “I wanted a job where I could go to work and not get bored. That’s why, no matter how big or small the role is, I am mindful about how impactful it is.”

Even for an actress who has in the past worked with the likes of Amitabh Bachchan in Yudh, her role in Lipstick Under My Burkha, made her nervous. “I was doing sex scenes for the first time. I don’t think even my co-star, Vikrant (Massey) had done anything like that before. I remember, during one of our initial scenes, we just sat there for 15 minutes staring at each other, wondering how to get started,” she laughs.

There was also the time, when she had no idea which co-star had left her slightly bruised. “I had a few intense making out scenes with both Vikrant and Vaibbhav (Tatwawdi). And they had all to be filmed in a single day. The next morning I was cribbing about my ordeal when Plabita (co-star) pointed out that my lips had turned blue! And, I had no idea if it was Vikrant or Vaibhav.”

Aahana was nervous about her mother seeing the film. “I told her she didn’t have to, if she didn’t want to. I was greatly relieved when she told me she enjoyed it.” This is the first time that Aahana was working with a female director, and she describes Alankrita as a hard task master. “She’s very inspiring, and she’s never easily satisfied with a scene. When you feel you have done your best, she’ll keep nudging you for a better take. It was exhausting, but, I guess it all paid off.”