Apeksha Porwal made her debut in Undekhi (2020). The feisty newbie will be back as Koyal in season two of the show. It will begin streaming on SonyLIV from March 4. The Free Press Journal caught up with her for an exclusive conversation. Excerpts:
Do you have any kind of pressure considering Undekhi’s first season did phenomenally well?
Starting from season one, I took my character Koyal up since it is very challenging. The thrilling part is that Koyal is miles apart from the real me. She is a tribal girl from Sundarbans and speaks broken Hindi with a Bengali accent. She has been molested in her childhood and had to live in the jungle. She killed someone and ran away to Manali. And season two will begin with the back story where her sister is shot in front of her. Her companion Rishi being shot dead, she being stripped and humiliated and is on the run and, at the end, getting a bullet in her stomach. This is all a lot to start season two, but it is an entire process. We had a lot of workshops with our director Ashish (R Shukla) sir. I worked on Koyal’s body language, how she sits, talks, walks, looks, etc. I have nothing but gratitude to start off. As an actor, it was liberating to perform in a no-makeup look.
Do you believe OTT has broken norms in terms of actors being insecure about each other?
As an actor, I don’t believe in the screen time you are given, rather what you are doing that matters the most. The scene has drastically changed where a perfect formula film with the biggest stars aren’t working at the box office simply because audiences want great performances and a gripping story now. So be it, you are the lead or a part of an ensemble cast, the story is the king. It is a great time to be here since it’s more of an even field now.
You did Badhaai Do despite having three scenes with Bhumi Pednekar. Weren’t you apprehensive?
I am fortunate enough that as an actor, I get to play so many parts and experience so many lives in one life. I did Badhaai Do after I did the first season of Undekhi and had signed the second season too, but it didn’t matter that I had the screen time of one and a half minutes in the film. What mattered to me was how my character (Komal) affected the story and Sumi, played by Bhumi. The exciting part was that I got to play a homosexual in a revolutionary film like Badhaai Do in the LGBTQIA+ space.
Apeksha Porwal as Koyal in Undekhi 2 |
The state of women in our films has been a sad affair, but with OTT emerging, it has changed too. Your thoughts?
I totally agree. Like I said, people want a good story. There are enough avenues for people to look at. I feel audiences are well informed, and they themselves are making choices, but that doesn’t mean that the mirch masala of Bollywood has gone. We very much love thrillers and dramas, but the scripts are definitely getting better. I don’t think a role like Koyal could have been written a decade ago, apart from a few iconic women-centric films like Mother India, Bandit Queen, etc.
Since you played Komal and Koyal in such a short span, what kind of roles are you looking for?
I have a couple of things that are in the pipeline. I have no issues doing two scenes in a film. I am an extremely greedy actor. As long as the character speaks to me, I’ll do it. I don’t mind taking up roles that are white or dark; they are usually grey.
