EXCLUSIVE | Netflix 'Mandala Murders' actor Vaani Kapoor on Deepika Padukone's eight-hour shift: ‘It’s a choice; but it’s healthier when you have decent number…’

A series spanning over decades which begins in 1952, the best thing about Netflix’s recently released show _Mandala Murder_s is that never even once you will get bored and you can’t miss any of the scenes because all of them are linked to each other and weaved to perfection.

In this series, the performances of each of the craftsmen are brilliant and ‘story is the hero’. Each and every character has a backstory and a secret wound that is cut so deep that time too cannot heal. In an EXCLUSIVE interview with Firstpost,  Vaani Kapoor, who leads the show and plays a dual role talks about her recently released series Netflix’s

  _Mandala Murders_ , gender pay gap and most importantly Deepika Padukone’s eight-hour shift.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

How did the role come to you and what made you accept it?

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 When Gopi Puthran (sir) came to me, he had this whole world of  Mandala Murders  designed which was very unique. I had never been part of something like this before. Be it the genre or be it the storyline. Even the character I portrayed, if you see my past filmography, I’ve never really done a role like the role I played in this series. So, this felt like a good opportunity to dive into something which is unexplored by me as an actor.

And I’d seen Gopi’s (sir) work, I’d seen Mardaani 2. You get that confidence from the filmmaker when you have connected with his body of work in the past. Honestly, hats off to him because the way he had intricately written everything and how he brought all characters together, how he connected their worlds, fascinated me a lot.

What do you have to say about this 8-hour shift ? Do you think it should be a choice or do you think that should be the norm? 

I feel it’s subjective. I do feel like it’s healthier when you have a decent number of working hours which gives you time to kind of replenish yourself. I honestly can’t comment on everybody else’s behalf. It’s a choice that I’m talking about.

I feel that, even though my contract is 12 hours many times, there are many, many days and many, many projects where I’ve extended every single day by 15 hours or 16 hours at shoot and sometimes in 17 hours, minus the travel. Since it is a visual medium, one needs to look a certain way. You want to be fresh, you want to have a little downtime to replenish yourself.

So, I feel it can be unhealthy, 12 hours is something that I usually stick to, but see again, but for me mutual respect for the actors and good team is also important.

What do you have to say about pay disparity and the gender pay gap in Bollywood?

I have not attained a certain stature yet where I can command and demand. I hope someday I’m capable enough when I am able to demand what I feel I deserve. I also feel it’s a form of respect and certain value that you’re bringing to your project, but I still didn’t reach that as yet, not in my eyes, so I feel whatever I’m getting is enough for me as long as I keep getting to do what I want to do. If tomorrow I see that I have reached a level where I feel okay to demand a certain amount then I will go ahead and ask for that. Till then I respect the amount that I get.

In fact, at this point of my life I am greedier and hungrier for work, but the industry is very unpredictable, it rides a lot on box office numbers and the audience pull that one has.

Watch the trailer of Netflix and YRF’s Mandala Murders here: