Raat Rani is a flower that doesn’t wait for the morning, it blossoms at night. Shonali Bose’s Raat Raani in Modern Love: Mumbai is about an abandoned Kashmiri migrant Laali played by Fatima Sana Shaikh. After working as a child artist, Fatima made her debut as Geeta Phogat in Dangal. In conversation with Firstpost, Shaikh talks about the preparation for the role of Laali, working as a child artist and making a comeback in the industry after eight years of struggle.
Edited excerpts from the interview.
What was the preparation for the role of Laali in the anthology Modern Love Mumbai like?
I had to work on the accent of the character. It was tedious and exciting too. It is always challenging to do something that is not a cakewalk. I worked hard on the dialect. Everyday I used to sit and practice for hours on my dialect. Everything else was very instinctive. Nilesh Maniyar, the script writer of Raat Rani is incredible with words. What a layered character and film he has written. I have always been a fan of filmmaker Shonali Bose. She has a way of working with the actors which is very special. It is like he embraces her actors like her own children. And working with her it shows our deep connection and that love automatically reflects on the performance of the actors. Ham donon kee jo jugalabandee hain vo bahut pyaaree hai (the connection that we share with each other is very sweet).
Women's roles have gone through a huge transformation with the coming of OTT. It has become layered and powerful. What do you have to say about that?
I think it is a great time for women actors. Now stories are been written for women actors. And there is no stress of numbers at the box office. The digital platform also gives a lot of freedom to female producers and filmmakers. Making women the protagonist of shows and films is a good move. You can see the stories that you want to tell and for the actors and filmmakers, you can convey your own messages and be part of brilliant projects.
On playing different roles...
I get a lot of offers that are good, but I don’t take up the ones that I cannot connect with. I like playing roles that are different and I love playing different characters all the time. I don’t like playing characters who look like me or behave like me.
Working in a short film, how different is the experience?
The most difficult job is of the writer when it comes to making a short film which has to be tight. He has to write the same script, but in a different way in the sense that the entire message has to be sent across in a very short time. For an actor, whether it is a short film or a feature film you will have to be honest to the character and you have to do justice to it. But your approach to acting doesn’t change much. The main job is of the writer and if the film is able to convey the message in a short time, then your job is done. I am just doing what is there in the script. For a well-written script, credit should go to the writer. And especially with Raat Raani, it’s all Nilesh’s talent.
Cycling and crossing the flyover is like crossing the hurdle of life as was shown in Raat Rani. How did you prepare for those scenes?
Since I know how to cycle, that didn’t appear very difficult. But in the initial bit where Laali is struggling, I just pretended that I don’t know how to cycle and wobbled a little bit and we did some tweaks to the cycle. And the flyover was not steep the way it is shown in the film. It is shown that Laali is struggling to go up, but that was not the case. For me it was very easy and I can actually go up and down at least fifty times. We tightened the wheels of the gears so that it looks real and it is extremely difficult to take it forward. We did those tweaks on the cycle so that it appears difficult. In some of the scenes in the flyover, I had to hold on to the break so that I would get the resistance.
On being a child actress and making a comeback with Dangal.
When Dangal happened, I wasn’t expecting it. When you are not from the industry opportunities don’t come easily to you. To play the lead role in Dangal was a huge break for me. I am very thankful that Dangal happened because that really changed my life. Sometimes you just need one film to propel your life and for me it was Dangal.
Tell us about your journey in the entertainment industry.
My journey in the entertainment industry has been sweet and sour. I struggled for seven to eight years. When I was a kid, I was working as a child artist. Then came a phase when I didn’t want to work. Again, I realised that I want to get back to acting. But it wasn’t that easy. I struggled for seven-eight years. I used to give auditions for ads every day. I had to stand in a queue of 50 people, wait and audition. I have done all of that. Then Dangal happened and that was the sweetest phase of my life. It was overwhelming to have a success that is so massive. I have seen the ups and downs and that makes me a humble person. Failure teaches you a lot about life and how to deal with it.
What do you think are the advantages of OTT?
The best thing about OTT is that there is no stress at the box office. You just have to do good work. I think it’s a liberating platform. If you are a good craftsman, you don’t need to just lead roles to stand out and OTT gives you that freedom to try different roles.
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