00:00Have you been just trying on this path to only do strong roles?
00:04I just think that's who I am probably, which is why I veer towards those kind of roles.
00:09I only see women as strong people.
00:12So, you know, which is why I don't think I'd be able to do something where
00:15the woman is inconsequential.
00:24Is the pleasure to promote movies getting to you or do you love this as well?
00:29I'm given to believe that I'm one of the few actors who enjoys promotions,
00:33but I think I had begun to experience some kind of fatigue.
00:37Because for the past three films that released on OTT,
00:42I think we were pretty much promoting sitting in one place.
00:47So I think that began to get a bit draining, you know,
00:51because there wasn't even like you weren't getting a breather of any sort.
00:54But this time around, I have to tell you,
00:56now that we're back meeting people, doing in-person stuff, it's so much nicer.
01:02You seem to be like Tintin slash Nancy Drew slash that kind of avatar.
01:07You seem to be channeling it.
01:08So where do you fit? Were you excited to play Salute?
01:11Yeah, but you know, she's not your typical or stereotypical detective.
01:17That's what makes her interesting.
01:18You know, she's almost like an oddball of sorts.
01:21Extremely sharp, but extremely shy.
01:23You know, that's a very interesting combination.
01:27She's inscrutable, but she's constantly observing and absorbing and decoding.
01:33So I almost felt like throughout the film,
01:38while she's trying to figure these people out and their motives
01:42and trying to solve the mystery,
01:45they're trying to solve the mystery that is Meera Rao.
01:48When it comes to you're dealing with rich, privileged brats,
01:50all of them are so morally ambiguous.
01:53So where do you fit in?
01:54Are you the moral compass that finally comes in?
01:58Or what should we know about your character?
02:00No, I don't think she's a moral compass of any sort,
02:03but she's a spectator.
02:05You know, this is new for her.
02:07She's very fascinated by human beings per se.
02:11She's actually socially awkward,
02:13but you know, she's interested in knowing people
02:15just to be able to decode them, to see what gets them going.
02:20So in that sense, she's a spectator.
02:23And therefore, I think even you're a spectator to their lives.
02:28You've worked with Anu for Shakuntala Devi as well.
02:31So you know her, right?
02:33How have your equations and dynamics changed?
02:35I just think it's a very comfortable equation.
02:37It's an equation of trust.
02:39I just know that she'll push me to try something different.
02:44That's something that I'm always interested in doing.
02:47Were you tempted to judge all the characters?
02:49The other characters that you are investigating?
02:51Because they're so...
02:52All of them sound really wicked.
02:54They don't seem truly likable.
02:56I mean, endearing maybe later.
02:57I don't know when you watch the thing.
02:58At first glance, you know, they're just a bunch of spoiled brat.
03:01And we love a good...
03:02Definitely.
03:03And they're so far removed from her world
03:05that she's like, you know, what?
03:08So vacuous.
03:09So...
03:11Her world of books and even movies
03:14and just trivia about everything.
03:18She's like...
03:19Really.
03:20She can't even believe that people could be so vapid.
03:24Have you been just trying on this path to only do strong roles?
03:28I just think that's who I am probably,
03:31which is why I veer towards those kind of roles.
03:33I only see women as strong people.
03:36So, you know, which is why I don't think I'd be able to do something
03:40where the woman is inconsequential.
03:42Or a damsel in distress.
03:43Can you play that?
03:44Like, you know, totally without agency.
03:47That's not your cup of tea at all?
03:48I couldn't do it even earlier in my early years.
03:52I don't think I can do it now.
03:54If she's a damsel in distress who then,
03:57you know, discovers her own strength,
04:00then maybe.
04:02Okay.
04:03And becomes a Charlie.
04:05Becomes one of the Charlie's Angels.
04:07Has the lure of cinema changed for you?
04:09Do you still feel as excited when you know
04:11your movie is going to play in the cinemas?
04:13Most definitely.
04:14There's excitement.
04:15There's also nervousness.
04:16I think it's compounded nervousness this time
04:19because it's a theatrical release after four years.
04:21I think I've forgotten what the pressure of...
04:25Not pressure, but you know that tension of knowing
04:28whether people are going to go to the theatres
04:30and watch your film.
04:31That is...
04:32It's a different feeling.
04:34I know.
04:35And coming from you, who's a National Award winner,
04:38that fear is real, right?
04:40And you should...
04:40I mean, I think you are one of the actors
04:42people buy tickets for because you are in it.
04:44So, should you?
04:47You know, it's also the times we're living in.
04:49It's the way our movies have been doing.
04:52The fact that people's habits have changed, you know,
04:55and we're really having to goad them
04:59and ourselves actually to go to the theatre, right?
05:02So, when your film releases,
05:04you're hoping that people just throng the theatres.
05:08And what do they do?
05:10Are you also really interested about the reviews, Vidya?
05:13Tell me about that.
05:14Do you read them and how seriously?
05:15No, I don't read reviews.
05:17I don't read reviews on the release weekend for sure.
05:22Sometimes my father reads everything.
05:24And then if there's a review that's well-written,
05:26then he'll tell me, you must read this.
05:28But I try not to read the reviews
05:30because, yeah, I just...
05:34It's too much on the release weekend.
05:36Each and every one of you is nothing but a bloody leech.
05:42A long night and here we are.
05:45What are you doing?
05:46What are you doing?
05:48My job.
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