'I had the toughest role of my career in Bhajarangi'

Kannada actress Aindrita Ray has got mixed reviews for her performance in Bhajarangi that released last week.

The much-younger Andy (as she is known to her friends and colleagues in the industry) played the female lead to Shivarajkumar who is twice her age.

The bonus was that she got to visit Udaipur in Rajasthan where she was born.

In this interview, the Bengali-speaking Bangalore-based actress talks about her experience working with Shivarajkumar, and her first Bengali film, Bachchan, which is in progress.

How do you define your role in Bhajarangi?

I play a talkative, headstrong girl who is always abusing.

She is so talkative that she doesn't care what she says and to who.

I had great difficulty in doing this movie. It involved a lot of hard work and it is a period film. This was one of the biggest budget films of my career.

What were the difficulties and challenges you faced during the filming?

This was the most challenging role of my career. I was air-lifted in a harness for a sequence in the movie and I stayed there for half a day for a few days.

I was covered in red mud every day. I had to mouth a lot of dialogues for my role of a college-going girl, which was difficult and unusual.

There’s a lot of drama happening around me when I get kidnapped and so on.

Was there any preparation for the role?

No. There was no preparation or homework as such. I just went with what the director wanted.

I was completely dependent on Harsha (the director). We had worked together in the past and the comfort level was good.

Harsha had worked with me as a choreographer and so it was not difficult to do what he wanted, however challenging.

Through Bhajarangi I got an opportunity to visit Udaipur in Rajasthan where I was born, besides visiting other palaces and locales in the state which are so beautiful.

What was working with Shivarajkumar like?

We had worked in Kaddipudi earlier and so we had the comfort level.

It was good to work with him as he is an experienced actor.

He used to help me deliver my lines. I learnt a lot from him about where to take the pauses and how I could better myself.

He is very energetic and sports six-pack abs at his age. He is definitely an inspiration to all of us.

Luckily, I didn't have to dance with him as it is quite difficult to match his steps.

Tell us about your debut in Bengali films.

I am glad to be working in my first Bengali film titled Bachchan which is a remake of the Kannada film Vishnuvardhana and stars Sudeep.

It is great to be working with the top star of Bengali cinema, Jeet.

My relatives in Kolkata are thrilled that I am working in a Bengali film with Jeet. We are done with the talkie portion while the songs will be picturised abroad in January.

What other projects are you currently involved in?

I haven’t signed any other movie in Kannada. Now that Bhajarangi is over and the Bengali project is on, I may take some time to sign a new movie.