What is the story about?
Mrunal Thakur and Adivi Sesh’s Dacoit is gearing up for an intense big-screen release. While audiences eagerly await the film's trailer, the duo's chemistry has struck a chord with fans. The pan-India release also sees Anurag Kashyap in a crucial role. And ahead of the release, the leading man spoke exclusively to Firstpost about his new film, working with Kashyap and Thakur, and much more.
Edited excerpts from the interview
You've both written and acted in Dacoit. How was your overall experience balancing these two roles? How do you approach writing for yourself as an actor, and at what stage do you decide what to retain or adapt during performance?
It was a very tough process to try and write an emotional film, and delving into the characters’ emotions. It surely wasn’t easy and I wouldn’t recommend trying that often. As far as the balance is concerned and what stage you adapt to, the acting or the writing, I relied on my director Shaniel who’s my best friend.
What can audiences expect from your character in Dacoit?
My character Hari is very dildaar, angry and transparent in his emotions. The fury, the hurt, the love, the callousness and the recklessness, you can see all of it in his eyes and body language. It was very interesting to play a character like that.
What was your preparation process like for this film? Did it require any specific training or research?
I did little bit of research in what a jail life can look like, and what it can do to a person’s face or even their teeth. We decided not to go too far in that direction because we wanted to find that balance of making a commercial film that’s being done realistically. Considering it was being shot in two different languages, to be able to flip from very casual Hindi to the rustic Telugu was quite a challenge.
You share screen space with Anurag Kashyap — what can viewers look forward to in those scenes, and how was your experience collaborating with him?
I think he's electric on screen. Anurag sir has been fantastic and he has extremely expressive eyes. Our scenes together are the highlight of my character. I really like what we were able to do together in the climax. He’s such an extraordinary and authentic man, open and unfiltered in his feelings. You always know you’re interacting with someone so down to earth and simple.
There's often a lot of discussion around box office clashes. Do you think it still holds the same significance today?
Box-office clashes hold a lot of significance for newspaper headlines. It’s very good clickbait. It always sucks for your moment to be shared with someone else so you try your best to ensure your film gets the right showcasing and get the public’s attention.
How was your experience working with Mrunal Thakur? Any memorable moments from the shoot?
I think working with Mrunal was amazing. She's extremely soulful. I also believe that, her character is the soul of the film while I am the fury. More than a specific moment, I think it was very interesting to see that she was so down to earth, sometimes quite literally. A lot of our conversations would happen with her sitting on the ground. I think what she was able to do with Saraswati's character and the way she was able to make her so resilient in the face of such emotion was quite, quite beautiful.
Edited excerpts from the interview
You've both written and acted in Dacoit. How was your overall experience balancing these two roles? How do you approach writing for yourself as an actor, and at what stage do you decide what to retain or adapt during performance?
It was a very tough process to try and write an emotional film, and delving into the characters’ emotions. It surely wasn’t easy and I wouldn’t recommend trying that often. As far as the balance is concerned and what stage you adapt to, the acting or the writing, I relied on my director Shaniel who’s my best friend.
What can audiences expect from your character in Dacoit?
My character Hari is very dildaar, angry and transparent in his emotions. The fury, the hurt, the love, the callousness and the recklessness, you can see all of it in his eyes and body language. It was very interesting to play a character like that.
What was your preparation process like for this film? Did it require any specific training or research?
I did little bit of research in what a jail life can look like, and what it can do to a person’s face or even their teeth. We decided not to go too far in that direction because we wanted to find that balance of making a commercial film that’s being done realistically. Considering it was being shot in two different languages, to be able to flip from very casual Hindi to the rustic Telugu was quite a challenge.
You share screen space with Anurag Kashyap — what can viewers look forward to in those scenes, and how was your experience collaborating with him?
I think he's electric on screen. Anurag sir has been fantastic and he has extremely expressive eyes. Our scenes together are the highlight of my character. I really like what we were able to do together in the climax. He’s such an extraordinary and authentic man, open and unfiltered in his feelings. You always know you’re interacting with someone so down to earth and simple.
There's often a lot of discussion around box office clashes. Do you think it still holds the same significance today?
Box-office clashes hold a lot of significance for newspaper headlines. It’s very good clickbait. It always sucks for your moment to be shared with someone else so you try your best to ensure your film gets the right showcasing and get the public’s attention.
How was your experience working with Mrunal Thakur? Any memorable moments from the shoot?
I think working with Mrunal was amazing. She's extremely soulful. I also believe that, her character is the soul of the film while I am the fury. More than a specific moment, I think it was very interesting to see that she was so down to earth, sometimes quite literally. A lot of our conversations would happen with her sitting on the ground. I think what she was able to do with Saraswati's character and the way she was able to make her so resilient in the face of such emotion was quite, quite beautiful.
