Mumbai: In an exclusive interview with Actress Rukmini Vasanth, where she discussed her excitement for the upcoming release of ‘Kantara 2’ and her role as the warrior princess ‘Kankavati’. She shared insights into the intense preparations for the role, including body language workshops, horse riding, and sword fighting. After that, Rukmini highlighted the film’s authenticity and the dedication of director Rishabh Shetty. She also reflected on balancing the pressures of the successful first film while focusing on storytelling.
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00:00begin with the interview. Firstly, tell me how thrilled are you? I mean, just one week left for
00:05the movie's release. How thrilled are you for the second, you know, version of Kantara?
00:12I am super excited, Raska, in the sense that this has been one of those films that I've been,
00:19so I've been working on the film for a year and a half now. And it's been something that's kind
00:23of top secret, not just, you know, in the national scene, but also in Karnataka within my own
00:29industry. It's not something that we had shared with people. So my announcement came, I think,
00:34last month or maybe a month and a half ago. So until that point, I was entirely silent about it.
00:40We were all just, we all had our heads to the ground and we were just, you know, working and
00:46trying to, you know, crank out the best possible film. So it's been really gratifying now that we
00:51finished the process of making it to just like, you know, parade around town and be like, our movie's
00:56coming, our movie's coming, everybody watch. So it's really nice to have sort of finished that
01:02part of the process and be able to focus entirely on this now. So yeah, and it's great that the film
01:07hasn't, I mean, the team, we've sort of, we've not been stressing too much about the last film and,
01:13you know, the pressure of all of that. It's just, it's a fresh, it's from the same universe,
01:17but it's completely brand new. So. Right, right, right. You know, having said that,
01:21the first version had, was a massive success. Like I remember myself having seen the movie
01:27four times in theatres with different set of people, especially for the last 20-25 minutes.
01:33Yeah. That was, I still get goosebumps while I'm talking about it. So, you know, now that
01:38what happens, had it not been a success, the second version of the movie, ithna stress nahi
01:43hota, you know, ki, but now that you yourselves have, you guys have set a benchmark for yourselves,
01:49right? So how difficult or easy is it? Or how probably exciting or nervous is it for you
01:54guys to, you know, live up to the same expectations of the people? You know, I think the beautiful
01:59thing about that is that Ikto, from the perspective of the team, I don't think that they were very
02:07precious about that success in the sense that they were like, you know, this, this has to be that or
02:15more or whatever. They were more invested in the story of what they were going to say. So they
02:20wanted to, to contextualize the deities that they have explored in the first film, they wanted to
02:26explore the story even deeper. So it didn't come from a space of wanting to surpass a certain kind
02:32of success, it came from wanting to tell more of a story, you know, so I think that that intention
02:37was very clear. And for me, as a new entrant into this universe, there was obviously, there were a lot
02:43of nerves, I think I was the only new entrant into this space, like the rest of it was just the team
02:49reuniting. So for me, it was, it felt like a lot of responsibility to be given a role, such an integral
02:56role within this universe. But the team really helped me in that capacity in the sense that they
03:03also didn't set any benchmarks for me of, you know, okay, it has to be like this, what has to be like
03:08that it, it was just an exploration of a character within a story. And so we were really able to sort
03:14of forget the pressure of that success and just run in on what it is that we needed to do, which I
03:20thought was amazing. Okay. Now that you mentioned about your entry new as a new entry, right? Yeah.
03:27Could you please tell us what exactly your role is? And like, could you highlight a little bit on it?
03:33Yeah, sure. So I play a princess called Kankawati. And from the trailer, if you've watched the
03:40trailer, it's, she's part of the ruling family of the region that is being explored, this Karabali
03:46region of Karnataka that's being explored within the film. And yeah, I think the trailer tells you a
03:53lot of, you know, basics of what Kankawati is. She's, she's a bit of a warrior princess, which is great fun
04:01to play. There's a little bit of dancing as well, which was again, exciting. And then a great deal
04:07of emotional depth to this character. So that's, it's really integral in the sense that she's part
04:13of the forces that kind of pushed the story on its way. So it felt really great to be given that kind
04:19of privilege and responsibility. Right, right. When you mentioned about warrior princess, right? I'm sure
04:24there's a lot that goes into the, basically the preparation of that particular role, because
04:31it's not like a, like any other random role, right? It's very integral. Also, when you talk
04:36about, it's very integral, and it's very important. So what kind of basically, the question is that
04:41what kind of preparations went into portraying a warrior princess? And how difficult or easy is it
04:47from portraying different characters that you've portrayed till yet?
04:52Oh, okay. It's a two-parter. So to begin with, there were a lot, obviously a lot of preparations.
04:58I mean, it starts right down from your body language. And body language is something that,
05:02that you do to prepare for any kind of role, whether you're playing a princess, or I don't know,
05:09whether you're playing a college student in the 2000s, or whether you're playing a princess from the
05:13fourth century. Body language is an integral part, because it's such, it makes or breaks
05:18the way that you present on screen. So I did, I think, four or five days of a workshop with the
05:25writers of the film, before we started shooting, just in order to sort of crack princess lessons,
05:32which was fun. So we sort of worked a lot on how you hold yourself, on how you walk, how you look
05:38at people. So that was all, that was all in terms of the body language of it. And then other thing
05:46that, you know, we had horse riding lessons, which was great fun. We had sword fighting lessons,
05:51just to sort of crack that body language. So a more active body language, as opposed to just walking
05:57or standing in some place. And then, and then there's all the bare minimum, you know, emotional
06:04prep of a scene, emotional prep for the dialogues, for the context that that character is in.
06:11So it was the, it was really multifaceted, my preparation for this film. I mean, even the
06:16dance rehearsals and everything. So that was something that, with regard to your second question
06:22about the differences, I was telling you, there was dancing to prepare for, there was
06:28force fighting to prepare for, there was sword fighting to prepare for. So there were a great
06:35deal more skills that I had to acquire in order to, to play this, to play this role. But that's
06:43the dream, no? I mean, you, you want to kind of have this opportunity to explore all these
06:48different things.
06:48That's right. That's right. You know, Nadir, I mean, while you were answering this question,
06:53I remembered an anecdote that Priyanka Chopra had shared that while she was, she played the
06:58negative character in Aitras, right? So during an interview, she had mentioned that how even
07:03after snapping back out of the role, like, even though at home, she was still in her character
07:08and she was in that hoity-doity thing, right? So as you mentioned that you had to obviously
07:13kind of get into the role by, I mean, warrior princes are very different from you and me,
07:18right? So was it like, what, did you also think, when you're going home, you're like,
07:23you're talking to people with such stature or something like that?
07:27See, I don't, it may have been the fact that, you know, we were shooting in Kundapur and the
07:35entire time we were sort of sequestered on that set. So I didn't have, you know, anyone
07:41coming and telling me that, listen, Rukuni, you're acting too much like a princess, please
07:45chill. But what I did, actually, you know, I don't know, my approach to my work has never
07:53been very method. I've not found that to be something that works for me in the sense that
07:58in the traditional sense of method acting, as you know, as a lot of people use it in that
08:04you stay in character throughout the process of shooting. I find that to be a very draining
08:09process. And I think, yeah, I don't, I don't particularly resonate with that kind of thing.
08:16So once we've finished our shoot for the day, I actually really enjoy the process of getting
08:23out of character, like taking off my makeup and, and just getting out of whatever mental
08:30space that character is in is something that I find very gratifying and also necessary for
08:36your mental health. Right, right, right. Any specific measures while taking, while applying
08:41makeup? Asa kuch kuch hota ne, just bhoot sarai ghante lag jate make up ke lier to get into
08:45the skin of the character. To asa kuch kitna time aapko lagta thai usually to get ready?
08:50Oh, this one was very intense. Because it's, because it's fourth century and also our, both
08:57our DOP and our costume designer were very adamant about the fact that they wanted to look
09:02as authentic as possible. So for instance, even the kinds of sarees I'm wearing, they
09:08are draped in the traditional manner in the sense that we didn't, we didn't stitch a dhoti
09:13and then stitch another piece like how they do with Bharatnatyam costumes. Yeah. So all
09:18my costumes that you see are like one saree that's draped around me in the old traditional
09:24like manner, which is great. It's amazing for authenticity, for functional things like
09:33needing to answer nature's call, it's not. So it was like, I mean, it was, it was quite
09:39something and then you're wearing like dher sara jewelry. So I had, I had great sympathy
09:45for these, for these, you know, ladies of the yesteryears of how, I mean, they look very
09:53beautiful, but it takes about five people to get you looking that beautiful. And so yeah,
09:59I mean, our process of getting ready took about two hours every morning. And then we'd have
10:05half an hour for costume and for makeup, I mean, for jewelry, jewelry and the sarees. And
10:10you know, there were days where we were starting at 6am. So, so we had to start, we were starting
10:17at 334, which was an experience, definitely one for the memoirs.
10:23Definitely. You know, talking about, I mean, you have worked with various directors and producers
10:28in back down there in the South industry. I don't even know how different or easy or difficult
10:34was it to work with Rishabh Shethi for that matter.
10:39It was, I mean, I wouldn't say it was difficult at all. I, I think what's been really beautiful
10:45in the process of, of while we were shooting Kanthara is the degree of detail that I have
10:52seen Rishabh sir take on being both the director and the lead actor of a mammoth film like this.
10:58I mean, the scale of this film, obviously not, and I'm not speaking in financial or
11:05budget terms. I'm talking about the time span that it, you know, goes over. I mean, just
11:10to contextualize, like costumes, there's no way you could ask a background artist or juniors
11:18to bring costumes from home and just, you know, wear them because this is the fourth century.
11:23Like everything had to be made and everything had to look authentic. The buildings that were
11:27made, the structures that were created all had to look authentic. So in that sense, this
11:32film required a lot of intellectual investment and a lot of imagination in that sense. So
11:38Rishabh sir is not only overseeing all of that, he's overseeing performances, he's overseeing
11:43takes, he's overseeing, I don't know, VFX, dubbing, SFX, all of these things, you know,
11:48the sheer number of things that had to be undertaken for this film. I just, I've walked away from
11:59this process with just so much appreciation. And I can't say understanding because I don't
12:06understand how it must be to think of so many things. But I've walked away with a lot of
12:13appreciation for someone who's able to manage all these things, almost always simultaneously.
12:19So yeah, you know, a lot of South stars, South Indian actresses, super stars, basically,
12:27are venturing into Bollywood and they're basically bridging the gap between South industry and
12:32Bollywood. Firstly, can audience also expect, you know, Rukmini to also star in like a full
12:41Dharma kind of a movie. Do you have, do you kind of hold on to such aspirations?
12:46I mean, absolutely. I think that, you know, for instance, for example, Dharma, as you've
12:52said, some of those films have been cornerstones of what we, you know, what we think of as
13:00the, as you know, like a classic film, right? So if I get the opportunity, absolutely. I mean,
13:07I would never say never. There, there are so many beautiful things that you get to explore,
13:14even within that kind of space. So can audiences expect it? I don't know. Can Rukmini expect it?
13:21I don't know. But I hope so.
13:24Because Rukmini look forward to working on it. Yes, which banner and which director or actor
13:29would you want to be associated with?
13:30I, you know, I don't know that, I don't know that I'm thinking so far as, you know, having a,
13:36having a wishlist of which banner or which, which co-star or which, I don't really, I'll tell you
13:45what COVID taught me not to think too much in specifics. Okay, I have a, I have an intention,
13:51I have hope. And I want to, I want to sort of venture into the world with that, with that hope
14:00of, I hope I get to be a part of an amazing, fun, or dramatic, or beautiful love story in the Hindi
14:09language. Now let's see, let's see what happens with that. Because if you come into things with
14:13blinders on, you miss so much. So I think COVID really taught me to take those blinders off and
14:19just venture into the world a little more openly. So absolutely. And we really, really wish you the
14:26best for that. We hope to see you interviewing, like we hope to see us interviewing you for
14:31Bollywood, for a Bollywood movie soon. Okay, I know, fingers crossed. Yes, spice is kind of
14:37pressurizing me, but one last. So I just wanted to understand that a lot of people say that when
14:42South actors from South venture into Bollywood, right, there's a language barrier that happens
14:47many a time. So do you think that could also be the case why a lot of South actors kind of hesitate
14:54in getting into Bollywood? Because the accent, the diction, the pronunciations are very different,
14:59obviously, since both languages hail from different mothers. So do you think that could be, that could
15:06be a barrier for South Indian actors to kind of aspire in holding it big in Bollywood?
15:10No, not necessarily. I think that picking up languages is a skill like any other. And, you know,
15:19if, if we as actors are able to pick up physical skills, like dancing, or post writing, or any of
15:25these other things, then I don't think that picking up another language, maybe we may have
15:32difficulties dubbing, perhaps for ourselves. But otherwise, I don't think that you're speaking
15:38more generally, right, Jessica, you're asking specifically for me, with regard to me, or
15:42both ways, actually, both ways, if you could answer. I, I mean, I don't, I don't think that
15:48there are, it's a skill, like any other is essentially what I would like to say, and with
15:52regard to the general question. Now, with my situation, specifically, I was raised in a
16:01bilingual home, my parents both, my father used to speak multiple languages, my mother speaks
16:06multiple languages, and I come from a 4G background. So, you know, in all our schools, Hindi was
16:11also a pretty integral part of things. So, for me, blessedly, I do have that background
16:17of multilingual, a multilingual upbringing. So, I think, you know, other films, but yeah,
16:28I guess each person has their own journey with it. And also some people, you know, it's not
16:32a priority for them. So, I don't think it's a, it's something you can generalize.
16:38Okay. One final question, just regarding this. Do you think that, I mean, we see that actors,
16:45who have been in the South, stars, right, they're very famous down South, but to get a pan-India
16:53recognition, they kind of feature into Bollywood is what they have also stated. How much of
16:58this, how much of this do you agree with?
17:06I'm not sure. I, I mean, I don't know if I agree with it or disagree with it. I haven't
17:11really thought about that kind of question, but if you take KJF like any cinema, that's
17:18not, I mean, that's a pan-Indian film. It's a film that went pan-India.
17:22That was a pan-Indian film. Yes. It's a Kannada film. So, it's not necessary
17:32if you need to get more viewership, it needs to be a Hindi film. There's a lot of cross-pollination
17:37across industries right now. So, I think that we're in an amazing liminal space right now.
17:44Now the industries, the industries across the country are constantly changing. Toh, we
17:50can't really function with these old generalities anymore. It remains to be seen. Now we, maybe
17:56100 years, we'll know if there's a pattern or not, but I don't think there are any such
18:01patterns right now.
18:02Right, right. Absolutely. And lastly, how excited are you for this and what, what message or
18:07what do you expect out of fans this time? Yeah, no, I don't, I don't walk into things
18:12with too much expectation. I just, I hope that people enjoy the film and that they learn more
18:18about the Karabali region that's been explored within the film. And yeah, that's, that's pretty
18:25much it.
18:26Okay. Okay. Thank you so much, Rukmini. We wish you all the very best for your, for this
18:31movie and all for your future endeavors. It was lovely.
18:34Thank you so much. Lovely speaking with you, Raskas. Take care.
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