Television actress Radhika Madan is making her Bollywood debut with Vishal Bhardwaj’s Pataakha. The actress will be seen playing the avatar of Badki in the comedy-drama which revolves around sibling rivalry.
Television actress Radhika Madan is making her Bollywood debut with Vishal Bhardwaj’s Pataakha. The actress will be seen playing the avatar of Badki in the comedy-drama which revolves around sibling rivalry. Sharing her experience of getting selected in the Vishal Bhardwaj directorial, Radhika told MyNation, “When I cracked the audition, the first question Vishal sir asked me was, ‘tan ho jayegi?’ I immediately agreed. I didn’t know that it is actually so tough to get tanned.
So, I would sit in the sun for 2-3 hours every day to get tanned. However, that didn’t work and we had to use makeup, which made me five shades darker.” Not every newcomer gets a chance to debut with a Vishal Bhardwaj film. Expressing her happiness on the same, a visibly excited Radhika said, “I feel really blessed that I have got this opportunity. It feels like a dream. We always have pre-conceived notions about people. I thought Vishal sir would be very strict but he is such an easy director to work with. He is very humble and always open to ideas. The comfort which I felt while working with him, has been like a dream.”
Will the box office performance of her first film affect her chances of bagging more projects in Bollywood? Radhika doesn’t feel this way, as she believes her performance will speak for her. The actress said, “Nothing like that. If I have done a good job in this film, then I think I should get offers and if my performance isn’t impressive, then nobody will offer me films. Look at Ranbir Kapoor. Unko box office ne kuch hilaya hai? Till date, writers are writing scripts for him! He is getting work because he is a good actor.”
While Radhika plays Badki in ‘Pataakha’, the role of her younger sister Chhutki, has been essayed by Sanya Malhotra of ‘Dangal’ fame. How did the on-screen sisters bond on the sets? Radhika revealed, “It was super fun working with Sanya. I really liked her in Dangal. When I got to know that she is my co-star in this film, I was very happy.” Recalling the day she first met Sanya, Radhika said, “When I met her for the first time I was expecting someone like Babita (Sanya’s character in Dangal), who would pat my back and say ‘chal Geeta!’. Instead, I was greeted by a shy, soft voice saying, ‘Hi I am Sanya’. I was like, ‘yeh kya ho gaya mere saath?’ (laughs).” The actress added, “I am very extrovert and she is just the opposite. But I really liked her from the very first day. We got a lot closer after the workshops. I am very scared of ghosts, so in the hotel, when our teammates used to scare me, I would just take my blanket and pillow and go to her room to sleep. That is our relationship. She is one of the closest persons in my life right now.”
Did she fight with her real-life sibling in childhood as she has done in the film? Radhika laughed heartily and then said, “Yes, I did! I have an elder brother. In our childhood, I would practice all my WWE moves on him. He could not protest as he was told by our parents, ‘chhoti behen pe hath nahi uthate.’ I, on the other hand, would try everything starting with chokeslam and pedigree.”
Before coming to films, Radhika was a television actor. She has worked in Ekta Kapoor’s Hindi soap Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi. When quizzed on the regressive content some TV soaps offer these days, the actress said, “I feel, maybe producers think that the audience is eager to watch this. However, they don’t understand the power they have. Television has the power to change the thinking of the nation. Even movies don’t have the reach TV enjoys. If you have this much power, then you should have the courage to take one bold step and change the content. Everybody wants to play safe and everybody wants a return of the money they have invested so they continue with the same thing.”
On the work front, the actress has signed another film apart from Pataakha. She will be seen alongside Bhagyashree’s son Abhimanyu Dassani in Vasan Bala’s ‘Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota’. Pataakha, directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, hits theatres on September 28.
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