EXCLUSIVE | Chitrangda Singh: 'Women have gaslighted me more than men in my life'

Chitrangda Singh is gearing up for her new film Gaslight that streams on Disney Plus Hotstar from March 31. It also stars Vikrant Massey and Sara Ali Khan ; and in an exclusive interview with Firstpost, Singh talks about what drew her to the script, what the title signifies to her, and how to keep the spirits high and hopeful when it takes time to land a meaty role. Also, the interview happened even before the world saw the teaser, trailer or even the poster. An interview even before the poster is out. Does that help in creating curiosity? Yeah. Maybe we should do another interview after that (laughs). The announcement video of the film was very interesting with all three of you taking jokes on yourselves. Is it important as actors to have fun and be little self-deprecating at times?

I think it helps, you can’t be taking yourself too seriously all the time. I think we all know all these things about ourselves, it’s not like we don’t know; we know all our shortcomings and there is no harm in doing that and loosen up a little bit. What drew you to the script of Gaslight? [caption id=“attachment_12341322” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Gaslight movie poster[/caption] What drew me to the script was the script. The character that I’m playing in the film, I don’t think there is even a bit of it in me. She is very different from who I am, very different from any character that I have played in my career before. She’s a very ambitious woman who burns with that ambition, you know; there is a completely different energy in the way she speaks, in the way she carries herself. And also as I was saying, the script, it’s not your usual potboiler, it’s not your usual thriller. It is a very different script. The pace of the film, the way the reveals are written is amazing; we also have Sara and Vikrant, such good actors. And for a mystery or a thriller, the script is the king, it’s not your flair or this and that which is going to carry the film, it’s going to be the mystery. How do you keep your spirits high and keep patience when it takes time to find roles that excite you and challenge you? It’s difficult. But when you end up doing parts that don’t excite you, when you end up doing things that don’t make you happy, even that ends up taking a toll on you. An artist is known for his performances and his body of work. I have been told this many times that it is very important for you to work because it is very important for you to stay relevant and be seen. But somewhere down the line, I also feel that I have to do good work to be able to stay relevant. Maybe that’s the reason why it has taken a little longer and I don’t do everything that gets offered to me, I also wait for the right time to get offered the right part. So I don’t do everything that gets offered to me and I also wait for the right part to get offered to me so I am basically stuck in a cycle. People on social media immediately give out spoilers when they see a suspense thriller. Are you hopeful for them to stay mum when they see Gaslight? That you cannot help, that is going to happen in any case. There will be some reviewers that are going to say what they want to say. I am repeating myself that this script has been written in such a way that the reveal is so slow, it’s the way it is revealed, the way the characters are changing. It’s the way how a human being would change, if he’s put in a certain circumstance. It’s not like what happened in the last, it’s not that kind of a film, it’s the whole journey of three of us. People are very excited to see you and Sara together. Do you enjoy working with actors you’ve not worked before? [caption id=“attachment_12341332” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Sara Ali Khan and Chitrangda Singh[/caption] Absolutely. It also works because when you have two different people coming together for a film, it’s not just two characters, it’s also two different people coming together. When you saw me, Vikrant, and Sara in the lift, we all three are such different people with different body of work. And this is a chemistry that is so interesting as it is. And then you have a line, you have a situation that automatically adds to it. I remember when I was shooting for the film and I used to go and check my scene on the monitor, just the dynamics were so different between the three of us, so that itself is very interesting. What does the title Gaslight signify for you? Gaslight signifies what we all go through. Somebody asked me when did you go through this, and this was much earlier in life. During college, some senior girls would make you feel you cannot do this, you are not good enough. You know how sometimes peer pressure makes you feel like that! I have been slightly introverted person slightly private so I think I have fallen for this a lot of times. So more than men, I feel the women in my life have gaslit me. So that’s the significance for me, it reminds me of my childhood days feeling the peer pressure.

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