Q: We have seen the trailer and it indeed has our curiosity. Tell us a little more about the film?
A: Raakshas is a fantasy thriller. We have not seen many fantasy thrillers in Marathi cinema. Raakshas is the first film in this genre in Marathi. We are kind of opening the doors of this film genre and we are really happy about it.
Speaking about your character in the film, which appears to be that of a mother.
Q: How did you prepare for it?
A: The character I am playing in Raakshas is Iravati. She is a modern woman. She takes care of household things, she also goes to work. She is also a modern-day mother. When we hear the word ‘mother’, we imagine an overprotective and emotional personality but Iravati is not like that.
She is very practical and someone who does not believe in giving up so easily in life. She had a love marriage and her husband is a documentary filmmaker. He loves shooting documentaries on wildlife and one day he goes missing. So this girl and her daughter set out to find him and the film is basically what happens after that.
Q: How did acting happen to you? How did you begin acting?
A: This is one of those sweet accidents which we say should be repeated more so often in life. I did a play in college and after that, I was offered a serial for which I said yes and from thereon there has been no stopping. I have been doing acting since then.
Q: We saw you in Hunter but after that, we did not see much of you in Bollywood? Any reasons?
A: After Hunter, I got many offers but all of them were quite similar characters. I did not want to be typecast as an actor. Bollywood is famous for typecasting an actor. This year I have one film releasing called Love Sonia. It is an Indo-American film. And yes, I am always open to new and fresh roles.
Q: How do you see Marathi films making a space for itself?
A: Marathi cinema is full of rich content. I rate them as a content-rich fraternity. I have been working for a decade now and in the last 10 years, I have seen changes in style, approach, and filmmaking in this cinema. Even today, there are so many actors who have become health conscious. They are taking care of their shape. So, you know a lot of change has come.
It is overwhelming to be a part of this change and being appreciated for that. I feel proud when people speak of Marathi cinema as content-driven cinema. The kind of experiments happen in Marathi cinema with the content, you see that rarely in other cinema works.
Q: Coming back to the film, did you guys find anything haunting during the shoot as you guys were shooting at haunted places?
A: There were many such moments. 99 percent of the film has been shot in outdoors. We did not make any set. We have shot in forests. It was a very difficult shoot technically. We were heavily dependent on weather. Commuting with all the shooting equipment was also a big challenge. Sometimes, we were not allowed to leave our vanity vans as a leopard was sitting outside. Until the next command from the production guys, we sat inside. But it was a memorable process.
Interview By: Shubham Pandey
Photo Courtesy- Sai Tamhankar’s Official Facebook Page