Vishal Bhardwaj and Vasan Bala have grounded: Radhika Madan

Radhika Madan does not understand why director Vasan Bala chose him for Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, which earned him rave reviews. But listen to her telling how much she hated action movies all the way to Mard and how upset she was because her first film in her first film was far from Karan Johar's heroine where she had been waiting for his life. Vasan saw in her. The audacity and frankness of this two-time actor are simply contagious.

During a recent interaction with indianexpress.com, the actress spoke of her transition from the TV "girl" to the redefinition of Bollywood female characters. It also reveals how Vashal and Pataakha director Vishal Bhardwaj changed her artistic heart.

Q. Supri to Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota and Champa Kumari in Pataakha have this anger inherent in them. Did you feel that an agreement was binding them?

They are both intense, not necessarily angry. With Champa Kumari, it was more of a superiority complex. She felt above everything. That's why something did not go as planned, she reacted in a certain way. With Supri, it was an undercurrent. She could not talk about it. Nobody would know what happened in her life until she meets Surya. It was more internal.

Q. For me, the reason why Supri worked so well is the way she defended everyone except herself. As women, we badume that we are saviors to the people around us, but we hardly have the courage to speak on our own behalf.

Vasan, sir and I, sat around discussing what would have happened to Supri those years, and then we reached a situation where she saw her mother living this life. So, subconsciously, you know that you have to compromise. You are angry with your mother and ask her why she did not take this step. As his mother did not do it, Supri thought it was normal.

Q. Often, even if we do not like a trait of character in our parents, we end up absorbing this quality unconsciously.

Yeah, exactly. Unconsciously, we end up badimilating all that we hate about them.

Q. It's in action, where she feels in control of everything that surrounds her. This is his exit. What was Vasan's memoir about it?

I never liked the action. I would have opted for any other genre, even horror, but this (laughs). I never had the habit of watching horror movies. I was pretty honest with Vasan sir. I told him, "I do not know why I'm doing this movie. I do not know the action. I do not appreciate it. He said, "Bas ho jayega" (That will happen). I have no idea what he saw in me. He told me that he had seen one of my videos and I do not know which video it is. I knew that doing things well was part of it. What he told me was that he did not want it to look wrong. "Mujhe nahi chahiye jo heroines action karne ki koshish karti hain by nahi karti" (I do not want the kind of action that actresses claim to do on screen but do not want to do it. not actually perform), that's the only thing he's told me. He did not want people to feel, "Oh! The poor girl tried to take action. He wanted her to be better and better than Surya. And I thought, "How ?!"

Then I started to train. Abhimanyu (Dasani) grew up watching all of Bruce Lee's films and I had no idea. He had started training in martial arts before me. I trained four hours a day and I watched a movie every day. At first it was very difficult for me to watch a movie and I was pausing every 20 minutes. After a month and a half, I got used to the program and finally fell in love.

A little earlier, I felt uncomfortable during conversations between Vasan, Sir and Abhimanyu. But when I started to look, I started giving my two cents! The three of us, Gulshan, Abhimanyu, and I followed different formations because our styles were supposed to be different. I was forced to be on the floor, while Abhimanyu was forced to be deprived of it. It was also because we thought Supri was small, so if she jumped, no matter who would grab her, while Surya had grown up on VHS tapes and video games, so that's it. It was natural for him to fly or jump.

Q.

When she meets Karate Man in a street, does she badume that he had to see how people are being abused at home and that, as a result, he started practicing martial arts defense. She does not learn for love of martial arts but instinctively to save others. In addition, what was very important for Vasan was to live Surya's dream by training with Karate Mani, because that was what he wanted to do.

Q. You started as the typical TV heroine Ekta Kapoor in a romantic hit saga. You jumped to become an inflamed and inflamed woman in Pataakha. You have now played a physically strong but emotionally vulnerable girl to Mard. Was it a thoughtful decision to take a route to Bollywood that contrasts starkly with your television picture?

I am really bad at planning. When I plan, it's a waste. When the universe does, it's beautiful. If it were all up to me, I would have debuted with a Karan Johar movie with my flying hair and very pretty. It was said that I had a conventional face, but I had these projects. Now, I realize that I have taken a different path, what should I do? I am very cliché and conventional (in the choices). So, I have to actually stop that.

I grew up watching movies from Karan Johar. So your mind is dominated by this content. I still remember it was my opening shot (in Mard), where I just posted a poster. I went on the set thinking that there would be at least a blow-dry so that my hair would be beautiful. I finished shooting and said, "Let's move on." And I said, "Sir, that was my opening shot. I'm not doing anything! And he replied, "So? But he introduced me in an incredible way. He gave me a heroic entry with the song "Nakhre Wali". He made me so cool!

Q. Your hair is moving when you perform acrobatics in the song.

He told me the same thing: "You see, he steals."

Q. How did these experiences change you as an actor?

I still had some inhibitions after finishing Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, but once Pataakha released, I was released. I took four pounds, my teeth were tinted, I had four darker hues and that changed me as a person and actor. I became more comfortable in my skin. I felt that Champa Kumari was the most beautiful girl on this planet. I really believed that. When she gets her hair cut and she runs, with her pink hues, with her buffalo, it was my moment Karan Johar. That was it.

Q. The beginning of an artist shapes it largely. You have met two of the most brilliantly imaginative minds. How did they train you?

They may not realize it, but they grounded me. They showed me what is really right and important and what is temporary and superficial. They have me back as a person. I want to stick to this new kernel. I really think that talent will surpbad everything from age limit to competition with star children. They instilled this belief in me. Both are my mentors.

After each award ceremony, I go to Vishal's house, sir. I have recently received two awards for Pataakha. During the first, he was not at home. So, I met Rekha Ma'am and their son. We partied. Every 10 days, I have to talk to him to tell him what's going on in my life. Sanya (Malhotra), he and I make sure we meet every 10-15 days. Vasan sir knows all the projects that are proposed to me. I sign a project only after consulting them.

Q. Is it difficult for an actor to adapt to the worlds of Vishal Bhardwaj and Vasan Bala after learning the basics of Ekta Kapoor's entertainment school?

I did not know "A" play when I signed Meri Aashiqui (Ekta Kapoor Television Show). If you look at the episodes of his first four months, you wonder, "Why this girl?" I learned to play on a set. There were times when we interrogated certain scenes of the series and our director told us that it was important for us to be convinced of history so that the public believes in our work. I thought that if I could be convinced by that, then I could do anything. It's the most important thing I've learned on TV.

I had ups and downs. I started to behave like a star when I had little success. My manager just made me sit down and asked, "Why are you doing this?" And I said, "I worked hard for that. I was just 18 when I was running non-stop for 56 hours and now I deserve it. I will treat them as I want. "He told me that, as everyone did, I should not do it.He asked me to treat the whole thing like my house.This changed me for I've seen a whole trip on TV, a successful tasting at the age of 18-19, star performer and then back home, I'm grateful to Ekta ma'am for this opportunity, so when I arrived at I knew that I did not want to take this path, I had abandoned the image that I had of myself.

Q. Everyone is aware of the disparity between Bollywood, whether on camera or elsewhere, but television is considered a feminine medium because the content is dominated by female characters, but how are women treated? filming?

What is common in both mediums is that if people like you, there would be no disparity.If your TRP is elevated you are treated differently and if it is low, it is different. If the show goes well, an actress can ask for a price increase and will do so because she thinks she is winning, but if she is weak, she is held responsible. In Bollywood, these are the box numbers

but things change because some parts are written specifically for women. And every time I'm told at a meeting that it's a good script but it's for the guy. I tell them, "Change to a girl. I can do it. Why not? If a new guy can do it, why can not I do it? I challenge them. In the past, women did not express their opinions because they felt that no one listened to them, but for now, they do it and we have to talk. For example, I think Rohit Shetty should make a movie with a woman. I want Zoya Akhtar to have a female protagonist.