Mrunal Thakur was freezing on Aankh Micholi sets in Swiss Alps: 'As long as it looks great on screen, I will do it'
Mrunal Thakur talks to HT about her upcoming multi-starrer comedy Aankh Micholi in which she plays a person suffering from night blindness.
Mrunal Thakur is all set for her next film of the year, a comedy this time, titled Aankh Micholi. The actor has already delivered three projects, including Gumraah, Lust Stories 2 and Made In Heaven 2 and plays a person with night blindness in the multi-starrer comedy. While the Aankh Micholi trailer comes across as a laugh riot, Mrunal reveals how she lost a thumbnail in an injury during the film prep when she would walk around blindfolded. Otherwise, the actor confirmed it was too much entertainment on sets as much as they expect to serve the audience.
In an interview with Hindustan Times, Mrunal talked in detail about the making of the film which also stars Paresh Rawal, Divya Dutta, Vijay Raaz, Abhimanyu Dassani and Sharman Joshi among the lead cast. Excerpts from the interview:
You play a girl suffering from night blindness in Aankh Micholi. What was your first reaction on hearing the script?
To play blind on screen was really challenging. I can't even think about the people who're going through night blindness. I don't know how they manage their life, and for me, they are my superheroes. To work with such experienced actors and to give me this role was a big deal for me. I just wanted to be a part of a comedy genre and who better than Umesh sir, and this entire amazing, talented gang. So it was a no brainer and I just got on board.
It’s about a family with flaws coming together to get their daughter married. It's a dysfunctional family who take you on a joyful ride. How we own our flaws and live our life with honesty and loyalty, it is a beautiful concept. It's based on a play. The things you see in the trailer were experienced by Umesh Shukla in his life.
Did you attend a workshop or followed someone?
I would just put on a blindfold and do things. Umesh sir knew somebody who was suffering some night blindness and he told me how he would deal with day to day life. They are all my superheroes. But their other senses are strong, they are sharper than anyone else. So I feel like it's always balanced. Many incidents happened with me during the workshops. I once stuck my finger in the door and my thumbnail came off. It was chaotic.
Paresh Rawal is among the best in comedy. Abhishek Banerjee and Vijay Raaz too have proved their comic skills. What was the mood on sets?
Chill, fun, masti, shor-sharaba. It was damn funny. We had so much fun. We were like those school kids who were made to keep quiet for some time atleast. I learnt a lot on the sets, it was like a school for me.
Who among all of you is really funny in real life?
I think Paresh sir, he's very funny. His one liners are epic.
What is the funniest memory from the making of the film?
We were shooting a scene where a snake was to be in the scene and a real snake appeared on the set. We were really scared and just didn't know what to do. That was one funny incident. And the second funny thing was Divya ma’am. Oh god, unki ek baar hasi chhot ti hai to wo band nahi hoti (once she starts laughing, there is no stopping for her). It's like an infection. Her infectious smile attacked us to a point where we would just hold our stomachs and say we can’t take it anymore.
What exactly happened when the snake appeared on the set?
I just pretended to be blind, because if I saw that, there would be so much of fear and chaos. As long as it's away from me, I'm happy because I'm the biggest fattu (coward). Snakes are expected if you are shooting in the fields of Patiala at night. You should be ready for all these things as well.
Like the song we shot in Switzerland, we were freezing to death. But we weren't allowed to be shivering in the shot. We had to be all nice and romantic. In fact, when I went to Switzerland for the first time, I followed the wardrobe which Kajol and all the other actresses had worn, and I was like, ‘this is so cold in here’. So hats off to all the heroines who have shot songs in like minus degrees and just looked gorgeous.
There are two types of actors. Some dream of shooting a song in Switzerland in a chiffon sari, and there are those who cannot ditch their woolen wear. So which category is you?
I think everything is for the screens. As long as it looks great on screen, I will do it. As long as it's justified. In Sita Ramam, I had to wear a chiffon sari in -22 degrees. There was a point where we were doing kathak in -10 degrees, where my hands were frozen, but then we had to bring it together for the mudra. It looked great on screen. Who can believe that we were freezing
When you watch Aankh Macholi, there was a crazy joke that was cracked on set where I was wearing a short dress and I was shivering and Abhimanyu was laughing. Umesh sir looked at him and asked him to show his abs and then I laughed so much. It's karma.
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