Pankaj Tripathi taught me being a good co-actor is as important as being a good actor: OMG 2 actor Anvesha Vij

In an exclusive chat with Hindustan Times, Anvesha Vij talks about working in OMG 2 and Crash Course. She plays Pankaj Tripathi's daughter in OMG 2.

She started her acting career with Annu Kapoor's web series Crash Course, and is now getting love for playing the onscreen daughter of Pankaj Tripathi in his latest film OMG 2. Anvesha Vij has not had any acting training. Now, at the age of 19, has already learned an important lesson in filmmaking - a good co-actor will always lift up the scene and delivery of actors around them. Speaking with Hindustan Times in an exclusive interview, Anvesha talks about her first project, working with Pankaj, and her first impression of Akshay Kumar when they met on OMG 2 sets. ()

Anvesha Vij played Pankaj Tripathi's daughter in OMG 2.

The right accent

Anvesha, who is a student of Delhi University's School of Open Learning, said that getting the right accent and dialect for her character was the most challenging. “I wanted to get my accent right because I thought, ‘What if they ask me to improvise and I have no clue about what to say?’ So, I decided I need to focus on my accent and get it right. I'd always sit with my dialect coaches even on sets. Before we started shooting, I was already speaking to my parents in that accent. Just to get in the feel, and know it better.”

“The character I play in the film is very different from me in real life. Especially her background and her way of speaking. I tried to get to know Indore in general. The tricky part for such characters is to get the accent right, because if that doesn't work well, everything else will be overlooked, no matter how well you perform. I had to really work on that.”

Working with Pankaj Tripathi

Recalling how she was overjoyed when she got to know that she is playing Pankaj's daughter in OMG 2, Anvesha said, “Pankaj sir has always been an inspiring figure for me, and literally everyone. When I found out I'd be working with him, it was the best moment ever.”

She then shared the one thing she believes working with Pankaj made her realise. “So many times I would just practice with Pankaj sir before the shoot. And, there would be so many times when we improvised and try to create a beautiful scene together. That was the best thing that I could do with him. Also, Pankaj sir is so humble and he would be very patient with me.”

She added, “More than being a good actor, it is important to be a good person and good co-actor - that is what I learned from Pankaj and Annu (Crash Course). Acting and filmmaking are team-work, so being good co-actors helps those around us, and helps in creating a good film.”

Supportive Akshay Kumar

Talking about how mesmerised she was she she first met Akshay Kumar, Anvesha said, “The first time I saw Akshay, he was in his getup for the character (of OMG 2). The moment he entered, everybody just stopped doing everything, went silent and they were just looking at him. He looked so charming. He was just somebody you can't take your eyes off. I got a chance to speak to him and he was so kind and supportive. I still remember, even after the shoot, when I got to meet him off the camera, he was really, really supportive. He praised me and that just meant so much to me.”

Crash Course

Anvesha made her debut with Prime Video's Crash Course which released last year. She revealed that she fumbled in a scene for the show so much that they ended up dropping a laptop being used in the scene. “There was this one particular scene in shuddh (pure) Hindi in Crash Course and I was not so prepared as it was added later. I was fumbling, and even my co-actor was also fumbling the lines. We were very nervous at the time so much, that we dropped the laptop in the scene. We laughed it off later but in that moment, we were surprised.”