Now I enjoy the action genre, I will do more such films: Sanjana Sanghi

01/07/2022

“You have no idea the kind of FOMO I felt all this while,” says Sanjana Sanghi when asked about her absence during the promotions of her first theatrical release, Rashtra Kavach OM, co-starring Aditya Roy Kapur. The actress was miles away, travelling with the crew of her next, Dhak Dhak, and has recently joined the team of Rashtra Kavach OM on the ground. In an interview, Sanjana talks about the shift she felt while moving from an emotionally challenging debut to a physically draining actioner and more. Excerpts:
Shooting for director Kapil Varma’s Rashtra Kavach OM right after a dramatic and emotionally challenging film like Dil Bechara must have been a kind of a breather for you, right?
It was definitely a paradigm shift for me after Dil Bechara, but by no means was it a breather. Action, as a genre, is so nuanced and challenging. It requires a completely different skill set. It’s physically strenuous. The way I had to apply myself emotionally in Dil Bechara, and the way I had to physically pull myself in Rashtra Kavach OM were entirely different exercises. I am grateful that this film allowed me to push myself as an actor and discover a new side to myself so early on in my career.
Action films often have comparatively lesser work for an actress, unless she is the focal point of the story. What drove you to give the nod to this movie?
When I got the narration for the first time from producer Ahmed Khan, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with the way the writers and Kapil have written my character Kavya, and how well-rounded she is as a person and pivotal to the narrative. Yes, the stereotype thus far has been such that actresses have had less to do in an action film, which is also the reason I had fewer references to look at when we were undergoing prep for the film. However, it is refreshing to see that filmmakers like Ahmed sir and Kapil want to change that dynamic. Today, I hope that this film boosts the confidence of the writers and filmmakers and makes them believe that girls can kick ass and perform action scenes with conviction while taking care of themselves... just the way the boys can.
You had to undergo a lot of prep, which included some physically demanding stunt training, too. Could you elaborate on that?
Kavya is a fierce, powerful and loyal special agent in the film. She stands like a rock for her team and her country. I was committed to the fact that beyond working on the action and training to play her, I would also focus on bringing out the person that Kavya is. Irrespective of the profession you are in, what you do every day affects you emotionally. The idea throughout the preparation was to understand her core and keep her natural and real. That’s been our endeavour. Whether it was speaking to real life references or studying examples from Hollywood films, the idea was to give her a rounded feel, and that involved a boot camp and mapping her emotional journey in the story.
Shooting action pieces is a task, especially with the kind of risk involved with respect to injuries. Since this was your first brush with action, what was your overall experience? Do you see yourself doing more films in this genre?
Shooting action scenes is like blending science with dance. It requires precision and you need experts to be present on the scene to get it right. One mistake, a milli-second’s delay, or a minor miscalculation can lead to extreme outcomes injuries, permanent damages, and so on. It’s important to focus and train; familiarity with what you are going to do on the scene is important for actors. I can’t tell you how scared I was before we started shooting for Kavya’s first action sequence.
It was right at the outset of the shoot. I could not believe that Ahmed sir and Kapil had thrown me at the deep end right at the start.
But once I cracked the first action sequence, it boosted my confidence. Now I enjoy the action genre and I am sure that I do more such films.
How was your tuning with Aditya Roy Kapur? He has attempted action before, but this seems to be far more hardcore...
Adi had dabbled in action while making Malang, but it wasn’t the kind that he’s performed in this film. As for me, I was totally new to the scene. I’ve always believed that in some cases, you’d forge an equation with someone in just the first meeting. And sometimes, even after knowing each other for years, things might not be straight and great. Equations and relationships are special; human connections are weird and difficult to bracket. Adi and I hit it off from the word go. He’s a friend. We were there for each other all the time, throughout the process. We’ll always share that bond.
Given that you’re still fairly new to the industry, what filters do you use while selecting a film? Is there any strategy that you’ve planned for your career ahead?
I can’t apply logic, excess thought and strategy to all my creative decisions. I don’t entirely know what draws me to a movie, what makes me read it from page one to the end in one sitting and give my nod to it the very next morning. I wanted to do OM after the very first call I had with Ahmed sir and Kapil. I read Dhak Dhak overnight when Taapsee Pannu, who is producing it, shared the screenplay with me and the next morning, I told her that I was onboard, irrespective of who else she decided to cast. It is safe to say that I work on instinctive decisions. It is making me discover myself in more ways than one with every film. As an artiste, our journey is all about self-discovery. If I stop surprising myself, my audience won’t be surprised by me either.

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