Director Meghna Gulzar has shared her insights into the craft of two of the most respected female actors in Bollywood, Deepika Padukone and Konkona Sen Sharma. Reflecting on her experiences of working with Deepika in Chhapaak and Konkona in Talvar, Meghna praised their unique acting abilities and talked about their approach.
During an interview with Zoom TV, Meghna shared how Deepika is always measured in her performances. “Deepika has depth. It is not that she isn't spontaneous, but she will always measure her spontaneous reaction. In Chhapaak, when you have to depict trauma and you have to scream, all you have to do is scream as loud as you can.
“But for that scream to haunt you, it needs to come from that guttural place. And it makes somebody who first reacted spontaneously and then thought it through to make that difference. That's what she does,” Meghna explained.
Chhapaak was inspired by the real-life story and resilience of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. The film was released in 2020.
Talking about Konkona Sen Sharma's approach to acting, Meghna revealed, “She makes acting look like child's play. I still remember we were in Delhi; it was freezing. We were discussing how the scene is going to be. She was supposed to be in a nightgown, and she was supposed to see the body at the mortuary. She was wearing a jacket.
“She removed the jacket, and as I said ‘action', she had broken down and screamed to the point where I had goosebumps thinking about it. And immediately as I say ‘cut', she comes out of the character and asks for the jacket. When you see this, you are like, did she not feel the performance? But when you see the shot, there is no way she would have done it without feeling anything.”
Meghna and Konkona worked together in Talvar. The film is based on the real-life 2008 Noida double murder case. The film also starred Irfan Khan in the lead role.
Meghna's latest directorial Daayra is in theatres now. The film stars Kareena Kapoor and Prithviraj Sukumaran in lead roles.
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