Actress Radhika Madan, who had her humble beginnings on the small screen, has turned out to be an admiration for many of the audience. Well, that’s what even she’s looking for! In an exclusive chat with The Pioneer, the actress, who recently made a remarkable performance starring alongside veteran actress Dimple Kapadia in Saas Bahu Aur Flamingo, discusses her choice of films, solidifying every movie that’s coming her way, and more.
Not busy trying to make a good impression on others or having any unusual tastes, the evolving actress of this industry, Radhika Madan, who had her humble beginnings on the small screen, is presently only looking for admiration from her fans and nothing else. After having a success on the same small screen with Saas Bahu Aur Flamingo, it turns out the madness that she took over in the series, which was so palpable to see in every frame of hers.
Besides this, her upcoming film Sanaa is making its own international rounds! Isn’t this a sign that the actress’s vision is finally coming to fruition? We would like to believe so.
When we received the opportunity to interview this Delhite from the heart, the only thing that was going on in our minds was to know how Radhika Madan is getting on so well nowadays, especially with a hit remake in her hands. That’s Soorarai Pottru!
Radhika, who is still not obsessed with her status symbol, sparks the conversation then and there: “It’s been so long; I was waiting for my movies to receive that critical acclaim that I have been yearning for. It’s under way! For me, exhibiting the shades that I have inside of me was way too important, and these days it’s coming alive. My team and I were after his (producer of a big banner) life for an authentic audition! He agreed, and there I was, ousting the star kid in the movie and helming it on my own.”
So by now you must have understood how the actress’ tastes vary wildly in the kind of cinema she chooses. She further shares, “While we as artists are delineating any character, the line between the good and the bad blurs for us. I am not allowed to bring my personal ideologies into the frame. For example, when I was filming Saas Bahu Aur Flamingo, shooting or stabbing felt like an everyday activity to me because my character was pretty used to it already. What I used to do was wake up, immediately leave for the director’s office, and only return when the office shuts down because I was adamant about knowing every detail about who my character is. No matter how violent she may seem on-screen, I had no personal judgements.”
Well, there was dejection too in her life, as she recalls the moment her previous film, Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, got shelved for a year and a half. She was doing nothing in between, and surprisingly, she left her television career at its peak! She describes it very clearly: she left the commercials and started chasing her dreams.
Meanwhile, what she was hearing around her was that she was never going to make it. Well, here is Radhika Madan solidifying every movie that’s coming her way. We continued our run on with her: “I never want to be plush and sheltered in this industry — make me as uncomfortable as you can while lending me roles. Give me strange, foreign roles. This is going to be my daily reminder to not let myself feel comfy here.”
She was told she’s not pretty enough for a certain role; this was coming from a really gigantic production house in B-town, and what Radhika understood was, “The casting director told me she’ll fix this issue. I was wondering — how on earth can you fix my appearance? She was immovable in styling me for my looks wherever I was spotted! I am not from Bombay, and I recognised that she was trying to make me feel insecure so that she could keep me in control. I stepped up and told her a big no. I cannot go under the needle; I cannot step out of my house like a diva. I don’t need paparazzi in my face. That’s just not me.”
We were glad to know that the actress has a few interaction moments with Dimple Kapadia to share with us, like, “She’s a student of life; she never stops learning. She’s up to the present moment nervous on sets! That was appalling for us as young actors before her; are we not prepped enough to continue to go through my mind? But at the same time, we were experiencing her power too. We bonded over breakfasts and dinners! I somehow seemed very pencil-thin to her (Radhika laughs); she sent smoothies for me. I was delighted! She was really the matriarch, even in real life.”
She confirms she was the super confused girl who was being manoeuvred by others. She, in fact, didn’t know what to do with her life, so she started to copy her brother. She didn’t have a dream of her own; it was later on that she discovered dancing and acting. So after doing seven back-to-back films and making so much progress, she is now not dicey about whether the character is headstrong or confused.
She continued, “The diaspora has changed so much too. Earlier, when I used to have conversations with my friends, only 7 to 8 films were being made, and not everybody was employed. Today, when we speak, each and every friend of mine has a movie in their bag. Even the filmmakers have started to take chances! I dont think Saas Bahu Aur Flamingo would have been made for bigger screens if not for OTT. Nobody has an excuse for being unemployed in this industry now.”
The hearsay in the industry is that Radhika Madan has given the movie Sanaa a global stage, and talking about the same, she clarified, “I was intimidated; I was horrified to take my film on an international stage at first. The selection came as a shock to me! I kept on wondering, ‘How the hell on earth did they connect to it? I wouldn’t lie; I was panic-stricken on the red carpet. After all of this, I realised that our hearts translated to the international audiences because they couldn’t understand the inside jokes. With every screening in a new international city, it was becoming so special for me because people aged 60 and older were also coming and holding my hand to support me. They don’t know me, but they connected with me because of the art. “In spite of being a woman-centric film, even men could connect to it!”
Something about Soorarai Pottru “I came down to Hyderabad to shoot for the remake. The Hyderabadi food was the highlight for me on the sets! I saw a female gaze in my character that made me say yes to this remake. The director’s heroine was not meek; she was ready to take on the world, and that was appealing to me. My role is more powerful than the male character in the director’s own way. She made me feel empowered! She was always in control; there were no hassles on the sets of Soorarai Pottru.”
