Mrunal Thakur may be glamourous on screen, but the actress has a deeply spiritual side. In fact, she seeks blessings from Lord Ganesha every day and shares a very devout relationship with the deity. “Anything we do, we have to start our day by saying prayers to Ganpati Bappa. It’s a regular practice beginning our day with daily prayers to Lord Ganesha. Even on the sets before shooting, we do it. When I was a kid, my mother would always make it a point that I don’t leave for school without praying to Him,” she says.
With success, not only does one attract admirers but those who are jealous as well. On a lighter note, Mrunal shares, “Girls are obviously jealous of me right from Super 30. They envy me. They eye me merely because all men I have worked with are extremely talented and good looking. I have always been asked this question, ‘How does she manage to get so many roles one after another?’ The mantra of me bagging roles is very simple. When I’m not doing anything even today, I prefer giving look tests because it allows me and my director to understand if I fit that role or not.”
Mrunal believes there are no shortcuts to success. “I work really hard. Many of them don’t know that I have had sleepless nights. I have gone from one set to another set without sleeping. There are a lot of things; for example, we miss our personal events, and we fail to be in touch with our own family despite being in the house. Sometimes in the middle of a scene, you end up breaking your bone. I have broken two teeth. I have to miss meeting my folks for days at a stretch. We don’t eat our lunch on time. We have immense respect for our folks, but at times we have to sacrifice meeting them. They do feel bad, but always extend their support,” she explains.
Her looks have made her a favourite among many cinematographers. “I am friends with all the DOPs I have worked with. Get along with them so much. I realised right from Love Sonia till Jersey that all of them have captured me in a certain way. I have looked so good that it allows me to become versatile. Also, be it urban or rural roles. I want to thank them for making me look different,” she adds.
Mrunal is currently filming for a project with Dulquer Salmaan. “We are almost on the verge of finishing the film. It’s a pretty interesting period set up, and the characters’ names are Ram and Sita. I will leave it for guys to keep pondering over whether it is based on actual Ram and Sita or not,” she chuckles.
Mrunal has a unique ritual to amp up her mood on a low day. She watches her Jersey co-star Shahid Kapoor Haider. “Haider is my favourite movie that I always watch, especially when I have had a bad day. It has a monologue that boosts my energy, peps me up, and I feel nice,” she reveals.
Mrunal is glad she got to be a part of Jersey. “It is a film that will change a lot of relationships. I want this movie to reach out to the audiences’ and hope it brings out the best in them, start the conversation and shout out to all those dad’s working hard to provide so much for their kid,” she asserts.
Recently Kunal Kohli had stated that heroines too can do action-oriented films. Mrunal agrees. “Yes I am happy Kunal sir thinks like that. Let the world know girls here too are capable of doing action roles like Hollywood heroines. However, everything is restricted in Bollywood. There is a change noted in Bollywood in this era, though,” Mrunal signs off.
