One film, super stardom. One web show, and rave reviews are pouring in for her performance.
Aneet Padda, the Saiyaara sensation, is back and how. She plays a 17-year-old minor sexual assault victim in Karan D Kapadia and Nitya Mehra's JioHotstar Original Hunkkaar, streaming from September 25. Interestingly, Padda had collaborated with the director duo for the Amazon Prime original Big Girls Don't Cry before the world watched her in Saiyaara. In an exclusive conversation with NDTV, director Karan D Kapadia opened up on why they needed Aneet for playing the terrific Minu Rawat, and how she prepped for the role. Kapadia also responded to the query on whether he would call himself Aneet's 'mentor'.
'It Was No Brainer That We Needed Her'
Karan and Nitya were clear that they needed Aneet for the role of Minu Rawat, who files a sexual assault case against the menacing and powerful godman Baapji (played by Raghubir Yadav).
Citing the reasons for choosing Aneet, Karan tells us, "Aneet was outstanding in Big Girls Don't Cry. She was someone who resonated with us immediately. She had also done a short film with Nitya called Khatti Meethi Yaadein that released on OTT platform Waves. So, we are well aware of her talent. We collaborated very closely with her on these two shows. For us, it was no brainer that we needed her for this role. We were confident that Aneet has the ability to play such a complex part, to delve into the internal battle and strife that is taking place in a survivor of such a heinous crime, to have the gravitas and emotional intelligence to play the character, to have the innocence of youth behind her - the entire generation has this quality of burning fire and desire that they want to bring out. And that's the quality we tapped into in her."
Aneet Did A Workshop For The Role
Hunkkaar is being talked about for giving voice to a survivor in a poignant and hard-hitting way. Karan said that Aneet did a workshop with acting coach Rachit Singh to bring the core emotion to the forefront.
"We did only a workshop with Aneet. Our show also deals with the traumatic effects of such a heinous crime. Rachit brought out the core emotion of a survivor, how she feels after such a crime takes place.
'The first thing that the survivor goes through is the loss of humanity, loss of faith, loss of trust in people. The testimony of Aneet's workshop comes out brilliantly in one of the best scenes of the show, where she spoke about a survivor's trauma in a courtroom," Karan tells us.
'Credit Goes To Aneet Only'
Asked if Nitya and he consider themselves as Aneet's mentor, Karan says, "The person who should take credit for Aneet is Aneet. At the end of the day, I can put her in front of a scene; she has to do the scene. She has to perform it. Credit goes to her only. I am super proud of the work she is doing. I am super proud of the person she is becoming. Not a mentor, but I would say a friend who was there when she needed me. She was there when I needed her. So, it's a mutual relationship."
Hunkkaar, a six-episode series, deals with the sensitive portrayal of sexual violence against minor girls at the hands of a self-proclaimed godman.
