Bobby Deol, Sanya Malhotra discuss working on Shanker Raman's Love Hostel: 'Almost every scene was emotionally heavy'

Being part of a volatile and gritty world of Love Hostel wasn’t easy for Sanya Malhotra, who, along with her screen lover, Vikrant Massey is seen fighting all odds with a ruthless mercenary (played by Bobby Deol) after their life. Written and directed by Shanker Raman (who helmed the acclaimed Pankaj Tripathi-starrer Gurgaon ) Netflix film Love Hostel, set against the backdrop of North India, is about honour killings. The film, a crime-thriller, traces the life of a couple on the run as they fight for survival amid bloodshed. “This film pushed me to a place where I hadn’t ventured before. It’s a tough role, it requires me to be in a certain state of mind. The film is also something one hasn’t seen on screen before,” said Malhotra, who had to be constantly in touch with her therapist during the shoot. “I take therapy all the time but yes, for Love Hostel I was in touch with my therapist frequently,” she reveals. She furthers, “It took a toll on me because my character is going through a lot emotionally but at the same time she is being very confident that she will be out of it. That is what I like about my character and that was the brief I got from Shankar sir that Jyoti will never lose hope and that stayed with me. That confidence she also gets from privilege and the conditioning she has from her family. Emotionally almost every scene was heavy. For reference, I saw some documentaries but the script was enough. It was tough for me also because I had so much empathy for my and Vikrant’s characters. I felt that I should protect them, I could never see them separate.” In Shah Rukh Khan-backed, Love Hostel, Deol will be seen as ‘Dagar’, who he says is a ruthless man. “It is the fear and intensity of the character that got me excited. These kinds of characters come once in a lifetime. I have been looking for roles that are out of my comfort zone where people cannot imagine that I can be playing a character like that. I am very glad that Red Chillies that offered me Class of ’83 earlier came to be with yet another different character,” says Deol, who was initially hesitant playing the part. “I was hesitant on the level of my character and how well it will develop. There are certain things an actor wants in the character that kind of make you think twice about selecting the role. I had a lot of discussion with Shankar and eventually we really got involved with it,” he adds. “Lot of detailing went into the look of ‘Dagar’. I was really excited when Shankar told me that he wants to give me a dark look, I am game for all this. I grew a beard for almost three months. I kept it unkempt, I didn’t try to trim, shape or colour it. We did prosthetics for the burnt mark on my face and the bent nose. All this brought out what Dagar is all about and what he has been through, all this really enhanced my character, and then I have never spoken in Haryanvi. I had to learn the dialect and get it right. It was like being in school and trying to learn something which I had not done before,” says Deol. “Bobby Deol looks insane…(laughs) he looks so good as Dagar. When I saw him in that avatar on the first day, he looked scary and intimidating. But I met him as a fan girl completely and because of that I couldn’t break the ice ever, I couldn’t take the Bobby Deol of my head,” says Malhotra while laughing.

With the newfound popularity with his foray into the OTT space, Bobby Deol 2.0, as he is now referred to, accepts that he is getting more ambitious and confident. “I never got a chance to get these kinds of roles. I never knew if people would accept me doing such roles. I was never image-conscious when I started my career, I wanted to do different kinds of things but those days everybody used to get typecast. They were given a fixed image and you could never come out of it. Even though I tried to do different kinds of stuff, it never worked out for me. Definitely, now there are more opportunities and people in the new generation who are watching web series and movies on OTT are enjoying not just watching the actor as a fan but as an actor performing the character and that is making it more interesting,” he says. Love Hostel may have not been healthy for her “mental health’ but Malhotra says that she loves emotionally taxing films besides happy and light-hearted films like Meenakshi Sundareshwar and Pagglait . “I love doing all kinds of films. The other day I was shooting an emotionally heavy scene and the next day I woke up feeling low and sad. I couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong because everything seems to be fine in life and yet I was feeling sad. I told my therapist about it. Then I realised that I was shooting a very heavy scene and that kind of stayed in my subconscious mind. My therapist told me not to induce such emotions and I told her, ‘Sorry, that can’t happen because that gives me a lot of satisfaction when I am shooting’." What also excited Malhotra about Love Hostel was her co-star Vikrant Massey. “I was really looking for a film with Vikrant. I really admire him as an actor. When I was reading Love Hostel I knew he was on board and that really gave me confidence that if Vikrant has said ‘yes’ to the script then kuch toh hoga, I can’t say ‘No’ to this. I have learnt so much from him, he is such a good co-actor. I was quite blown away to see how he works on set. My first few days were so smooth. I was having so much fun doing scenes with him. I just had to look at him, he is so brilliant, he is magic,” says Malhotra. “We both like doing our homework. We bonded over that because we used to read our lines together with Shankar sir and also talk a lot about Jyoti and Ashu’s past, their back story, how they met… And I really like the way he preps. I used to just read the scene that we had to do for the day but his method is to read five scenes before and five scenes after the given scene. Now I do it for all the films that I am doing,” she adds.

Even as the world grappled during the pandemic, the last two years have been extremely productive and professionally fulfilling for Malhotra. “Last two years have been better for my career than what it was pre covid. It’s gratifying because I too can see that growth manifesting. The kind of love I got for Pagglait, Ludo , Meenakshi..I can see that positive change in my career. It has really given me that push as an actor. Even though we couldn’t step out of the house I was still getting to entertain somehow and that was so satisfying,” she says. Quiz her on the Attlee film with Shah Rukh Khan and the actress doesn’t say much. “I hope I get to work with SRK soon (laughs). There is HIT - The First Case, a mystery film and a remake of a Telugu flick that I am doing with Rajkummar Rao. I actively manifested this one, it will be released this year. Then, I can’t wait to be on sets with Vicky Kaushal and can’t wait to be directed by Meghna Gulzar for Sam Bahadur, ” says Malhotra. Deol is all praise for his young co-actors. “You see a lot of new actors, new talent, you feel so happy and excited working with them, they are so prepared. Sanya and Vikrant are such natural actors. When they perform they don’t look like themselves, they look like the characters, I could only see Jyoti and Ashu in front of me. They are so down-to-earth and dedicated. I really enjoyed spending time with them,” says Deol, who is looking forward to a slice-of-life movie, and then there is Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal with Anil Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor. “I love Ranbir and I love Anil’s energy,” he quips. Directed by Shanker Raman, produced by Red Chillies Entertainment and Drishyam Films, Love Hostel releases on 25 February on ZEE5. Seema Sinha is a Mumbai-based mainstream entertainment journalist who has been covering Bollywood and television industry for over two decades. Her forte is candid tell-all interviews, news reporting and newsbreaks, investigative journalism and more. She believes in dismissing what is gossipy, casual, frivolous and fluff. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .