Toofaan: Mrunal Thakur on playing Ananya to Farhan Akhtar's Ajju, and being directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra

Mrunal Thakur, who co-stars with Farhan Akhtar in _Toofaan_ , is having a busy day chatting with the press about her film directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. We manage about a 15-minute-long conversation, stretching it by just an additional minute (much to the PR agent’s chagrin) about her character Ananya, her experience on set with Mehra and Akhtar, and whether Bollywood filmmakers have a habit of giving secondary roles to actresses. Thakur carved a name for herself in the entertainment industry with the Balaji soap, Kumkum Bhagya. She made her big-screen debut with  _Love Sonia_,  a drama that recounts the tale of two sisters trapped in a human trafficking ring. Thakur branched out into Bollywood with  Super 30 , where she played Supriya, Anand Kumar’s (Hrithik Roshan) love interest. She was then seen opposite John Abraham in  _Batla House_ , followed by Karan Johar’s short in Netflix’s anthology,  _Ghost Stories_ . [caption id=“attachment_9797241” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  A still from Toofaan. YouTube[/caption] In Toofaan, Thakur plays Ananya, a young doctor who becomes entwined in Ajju’s (Akhtar) life as he tries to find a sense of purpose in boxing. “Ananya is a catalyst in the transformation of Ajju to Aziz, the boxer, the champion,” Thakur tells Firstpost.  After Toofaan, Thakur’s next release is Jersey, a remake of Nani’s Tamil sports drama, with Shahid Kapoor. Written by Anjum Rajabali and Vijay Maurya, Toofaan also stars Supriya Pathak Shah and Hussain Dalal in pivotal roles. The sports drama will arrive on Amazon Prime Video India on 16 July. Excerpts from the interview:  Can you tell us something about your character Ananya?  Ananya is this sweet girl, she’s a doctor by profession. Ananya is a catalyst in the transformation of Ajju to Aziz Ali, the boxer, the champion. She is that one person who exists in everyone’s lives. She can probably exist in the form of a mother, a brother, a girlfriend or a boyfriend, a husband or a wife. She is like that one person in your family who will always push you no matter what. I’m really blessed to play this part. [caption id=“attachment_9797251” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A still from Toofaan. YouTube[/caption] In the trailer, we see Ajju face hindrances and failure in his journey. When you face failure, you tend to be harsh on yourself and let self-doubt consume you, as it does Ajju. Ananya seems to have a lot of patience and empathy for him. How did you channel these emotions into your character? There are two types of people I have met: Those who go through a lot of problems in their lives and they victimise themselves or those who, in spite of problems, focus on the positives. Ananya is a broken soul and there was a lot of pain she had to go through. But she never victimises herself. She is always a ray of sunshine or hope. She always makes sure the people around her are happy. Rakeysh sir always told me to refer to any (painful) incidents that happened in my life. He told me that the biggest tool that has an actor has is turning to their memories. He said that when I’m enacting a scene I need to relate it to my personal life and all these memories play an important role. It was difficult. There were times when Farhan would give me a lot of energy and support. He would always push me to perform better. Ananya is an amalgamation of what Rakeysh sir thinks, what Mrunal is, what Farhan’s character thinks about Ananya. What were your learnings from being on the set of Toofaan? As an actor, I believe it is important for you to observe those around you. The power of observation is so strong. It helps you not just in your performance onscreen but even in your everyday life. I started observing what Farhan would do between takes – he would just sit in a corner, put his headphones on and listen to music. He would be in his zone. I wanted to know what he was listening to (because it seemed to help his process). I started looking for a song that would define Ananya’s journey. Then I came across ‘Her Grace’ by Maverick Sabre. This song defines who Ananya is, what her journey is all about. After watching Toofaan, I would request you all to listen to this song as well. Every time I was away from the set or when I returned from other shoots, it was difficult for me to get into character. I had this song on loop for almost a year as we shot the film. [caption id=“attachment_9797191” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Produer Ritesh Sidhwani, Mrunal Thakur, director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, and Farhan Akhtar. Twitter @_bollywoodtown[/caption] Rakeysh sir is one actor who would never put pressure on his actors. The moment actors start feeling the pressure, their performance becomes restricted. He used to say, “I got the best shot. Now let’s do one last take. Do anything you want to.” He wanted us to stick to the scene but gave us the freedom to do whatever we felt like. The most magical moments would come out of those shots. Our fabulous DoP Jay Oza would centrally light the sets and there would not be much time between the wide and the close shot. He also believed that lesser time given to an actor would mean better for them to stay in the mood (of the character). I was blessed to have this dream team. Pranav Shukla, our sound designer, made sure that I wouldn’t have to dub the film. There was less than a percent of the dialogue that I had to dub. When you’re on a set and it’s a real location, recording sound is a very difficult process. Especially in areas like Nagpada and Dongri where there’s not even enough space for people to stand, we were shooting there. There’s a recurring pattern of giving female actors the secondary role or even sidelining them from the narrative, something that’s visible even in your filmography. You’ve been paired against Hrithik Roshan in Super 30, John Abraham in Batla House, now with Farhan Akhtar in Toofaan. What are your comments on this? In the film, it’s Ananya who pushes Aziz (to reach his goal). I’m really happy that Rakeysh sir cast me in this film and gave me such a strong role. Ananya is not just a girl who is sitting at home, waiting for her husband to come back and to cook for him. She’s also a doctor, she’s a professional. Things are changing now in Bollywood. When my colleagues saw the trailer they were so happy to see that Ananya got the same screen time as Farhan. There have been trailers (of my past films) where I wasn’t even in them. There are also a lot of female-centric roles being written now. Even OTT platforms have given that option. The audience is getting smarter, they want to see something real. They don’t want to see the same cliched things. [caption id=“attachment_9797301” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A still from Toofaan. YouTube[/caption] What do you have to say about the significant age gap between male actors and female actors, especially in a romantic story?  I think it’s a part and parcel of being in the industry. It’s more of a commercial choice I feel. When I am offered a role, I look at what my character has to offer not the age difference. If the pair look good onscreen and the audience loves it, then it shouldn’t be a problem. If you had to work in a sports film or a biography, which sport or sportsperson would you pick? I want to be a swimmer. I have been hydrophobic and that’s something I really want to overcome. That’s my next target. I would love to play Rupali Repale. There are so many swimmers whose journeys have not been celebrated. If someone is making that movie, please reach out to me. I’m hungry to do roles like that.