Radhikka Madan talks about her amazing performance in Sarfira, her collaboration with director Sudha Kongara and her friendship with co-star Akshay Kumar in this exclusive interview with The Pioneer. She shares her ambition to play darker roles in the future and muses on overcoming personal obstacles. Learn about the inspirational path of an actress who redefined her career by breaking the mold!
SHIKHA DUGGAL
The weekend profits of Sarfira, Radhikka Madan’s Hindi remake of Suriya’s National Award-winning Soorarai Pottru, showed an increase. There has also been a sharp increase in the amount of appreciation she is receiving in addition to the box-office collections. Her outstanding performance is highlighted in every interview with her director, Sudha Kongara, which the entire cast and crew are raving over.
Here we have another exclusive interview with the leading lady of Sarfira, who is gaining momentum. Receiving a plethora of praise from critics, a much happier Radhikka declares, “It’s all thanks to Sudha Kongara; she took it upon herself to develop my character in a way that wasn’t cliché. On Sarfira’s sets, I had a sense of empowerment!”
She takes us on a zoom interaction and goes back in time, saying, “I had just finished doing Sanaa when I received the script for Sarfira. For my part in Sanaa, I was in a pretty sad place, so Sarfira’s script was a breath of fresh air. While I was doing Sanaa, Sudha Kongara took me out of that dark place and reminded me of who the real Radhikka is. I regret having forgotten that aspect of myself.”
However, was it necessary for director Sudha to persuade Raddhika so much? “I said yes in the very first hour of reading the Sarfira script,” the actress proclaimed. “It’s a really powerful and inspirational movie. At that particular moment in my personal life, I was held to the same standards of clarity and ambition as my character. I could relate to that!”
We asked Shiddat fame about Akshay Kumar’s off-screen moments with her because we were quite intrigued about it. She replied, “He didn’t even for a second bring the aura of a superstar to the Sarfira sets. So gentle, so grounded. Something strange about me is that, when I’m on a movie set, I don’t see my co-stars as superstars; instead, I see them as the characters they play beside me. That is all.” Because, she recalled, “I experienced the same thing when I was acting with the late Irrfan Khan Saab. I began to sense that he was my dad! That’s how it all seeps in—I was crying at my first screening. Playing Ludo together helped Akshay and I become close. Besides, he was always actively diverting my attention to see how concentrated I could be! Even though the director approved of it (she laughed), they were wagering on whether or not I would ask for another take. However, I wish I had Akshay Kumar’s level of ease.”
The Angrezi Medium star remembers several difficult scenes from Sarfira’s sets, saying, “I’m a Delhi girl, yet I was meant to play a Marathi lady! People may have wondered how I would carry off playing a Marathi girl when I was offered this job, in my opinion. I faced it head-on because it was a challenge. I enjoy proving people wrong! Please don’t categorise me. When I did Patakha, the industry only offered me the part of a village belle. However, I broke the mold with another hit. Sudha Kongara was of great assistance to me.”
As a matter of fact, “Rani” was Sudha Kongara. I used to simply look up to her working approach whenever I was feeling lost. There she stood, a fiery, passionate and ravenous lady. However, I did my lot to embrace my “Marathi” side by, for instance, listening to only the best Marathi music. I was surprised to see a director with that level of clarity on the Sarfira sets. Her ability to control emotions is really motivating!”
The actress concluded by saying, “In love being challenged. Right now, I would kill to be the antagonist! I’d love to break the mold as well, because I get comments about how naive I seem much too often. I want to play a dark character in movies now.”
