Actor Mrunal Thakur says this lockdown has given everyone a chance to spend time with their families
Titas Chowdhury (HINDUSTAN TIMES; May 13, 2020)

Mrunal Thakur is spending some quality time with her family and her pet cat, Billo, during this lockdown, and she says that this situation has made her realise a lot of things. “I’m making sure that I help my mother. Hats off to all homemakers and mothers who are taking care of their families without any break!” says the actor who appreciates all mothers, who tirelessly work for their families throughout the year.

Her heart goes to all those who are going out to work, including her father, irrespective of the lockdown. “There are a lot of people who’re working round the clock to save lives. My father is a banker and he needs to go to work as they are responsible for saving our economy,” says Thakur who confides about feeling a sense of fear every time her father steps out of the house.

Ask her how she has been dealing with the panic and she asserts that the secret lies in staying at home but leading “a regular life”. She shares, “We need to work out, cook food and embrace every moment because this time is not going to come back. We need to spend time with our families and be in touch with them through video calls if they aren’t with us. And let’s not spread rumours that cats and dogs can also be carriers of Coronavirus.”

Thakur admits that though she “hates reading”, she’s making sure that she reads a page a day and she has been trying to look out for the silver lining during this crisis. “We’re way too privileged. We can stay at home and have food on our table. The air pollution has gone down and the birds are out chirping. This lockdown is helping us and Mother Earth to heal,” she says.

The Batla House (2019) actor says that the post-corona world should practice a voluntary lockdown. “I believe there needs to be a lockdown for at least a week or maybe a month every year where we can be at home and make sure that we spend a lot of time with our families. It’ll help the next generation enjoy the fruits of the nature,” she signs off.

Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; September 1, 2018)

The experience of working on a hard-hitting film like Love Sonia has changed actress Mrunal Thakur’s perspective completely. She had honed her skills on Indian television and commercials, but when she opted for this unconventional debut in Bollywood, little did she know that the global setting, the phenomenal cast and director Tabrez Noorani’s film will bring her face to face with such dramatic highs and lows. In a chat with BT, the actress talks about her journey so far, about playing a character that has drained her emotionally and why she thinks prostitutes deserve respect. Excerpts…

After travelling to film festivals, Love Sonia is finally gearing up to release in India. How do you look back at the experience of working on your debut film?
We have been hearing great things about our project and I think it’s my good karma that I got a chance to work with director Tabrez Noorani in a film that has such a phenomenal cast. Not just that, the story was extensively researched, too. It was a tough part to pull off because Sonia is the voice of thousands of girls, who are being trafficked globally every minute.

Your film has been garnering praise in international markets. How do you think the audience here will react to this hard-hitting story?
One of Tabrez’s friends started an NGO after watching the film and she has rescued 15-17 girls already. I want people to know what teenage girls go through when they get trafficked. Girls need to be aware that a faceless friend on social media could actually lead them into a trap. This story of two sisters will fill you with emotions and make you more empathetic towards trafficked women.

While TV and ad films don’t give an artiste much room for research and detailing, films and theatre do. Now that you have dabbled in all three, which would you say is the most demanding medium?
Nothing is easy. TV requires you to multitask — you are given your lines at the last minute, plus there are other chores like costume, hair, make-up and microphones. You have to take care of everything without getting distracted, because if you’re not focused, the camera catches it. My co-actresses on TV have helped me clear my Hindi diction because I had a thick Marathi accent. Commercials teach you the art of speaking subtly to the audience. Theatre polishes the artistry. But with films, you get sucked into a different world — there is so much research for everything. My co-star Riya Sisodiya and I had been to Sonagachi in West Bengal to study the prostitutes there, and pick up the subtleties of their body language. It’s a sad reality that these girls are addicted to bidis and drugs. They are forced to consume drugs, so that they can go through the grind every day.

Did the experience of working on a film about prostitution and human trafficking get overwhelming?
The experience taught me to respect these women. Their stories are heartbreaking. They sleep with 40-50 men in a day and barely get 100 or 50 rupees per person. Is that life? I met a lady from Kolkata, who looks after the children of these prostitutes and ensures that they lead a life different from their mothers. It felt great to meet someone like her. I feel I can be their voice, too. This film has given me a chance to put their perspective across to the world. No one hesitates to call them whores, but no one cares about what they go through. There were scenes in the film, which I told Tabrez I can’t do. He addressed my discomfort and shot them according to my preference. When I was in Hong Kong and LA, there were two scenes that shook me completely. I was told that a girl was sold twice as a virgin with the help of surgery so that the pimp could make twice the money. Every day, 270 girls go missing. Where do they go? Sex trafficking is like a fire that could engulf any woman who is not vigilant.

How important is to detach from a character with such a stark reality, after the shoot is over ?
Portraying Sonia wasn’t easy. I had to remind myself every day that I am only playing the character, and I am not Sonia. My dad was always there to support me. He often said, ‘Beta, Smita Patil should be your inspiration. Do it the way she would have done it.’ Virginia Holmes, who did my make-up, was an emotional support for me. Even the crew made it a point to behave sensitively on the set. They’d purposely laugh and joke after an intense scene to help me shake it off. Richa Chadha and Freida Pinto helped me a lot. My role in Love Sonia gripped me to the extent that I started despising the male touch. I would stand under the shower for long spells. It just didn’t feel nice.

Often, it’s the girls from the lowest strata of society who become easy targets. While Hindi films have spoken about women’s safety and liberation of late, most of the conversations have centred on middle-class or affluent women. Your film seems to represent voices of the lower sections, too...
Women in any strata of society have to first stop conditioning their girls differently from boys. Never tell a girl to be quiet or to tolerate abuse. I am sure many girls drop hints or sometimes even tell their parents about a male relative who has been touching them wrongly, but no action is taken. Whichever section or strata of the society they belong to, girls have to call out their perpetrators and report them to the cops. We want our film to reach every nook and corner of the country, so that people understand how girls get trafficked and what can be done to help them.