Bollywood actor Aditi Rao Hydari was floored when she heard the story of Malayalam film ‘Sufiyum Sujatayum'. The innocence, love, stubbornness of the character reminded her of her younger days. She added that she could quickly relate to the role.
The actor now has a couple of films ready for theatrical release and is waiting to get back to work and to watch the movie on the big screen. In an interview with Showtime, Aditi talks about the film and more.
What attracted you to the character?
The story of a simple, sweet, determined and innocent girl drew me to the character. The girl is an embodiment of true and pure love. She may be married to another man, but she always remains true to her first love. I feel this sort of thing exists for real. The Sufi music and philosophy add to the charm of the story.
You play a speech-impaired girl in the film. What were the challenges in emoting that?
Most of her communication is through sign language and facial expression. I had to depict a whole range of emotions like love, anger, distress and joy, just using my expressions. It didn't come across as a challenge because I love stories. My training in dance helped me grasp and express the required emotions.
How did your training in dance help?
In dance, you are taught to portray the strangest of emotions. You are trained to dance looking at someone you may not even know and that helps you get rid of your self-consciousness. Dance helped me face the camera and also look at strangers in the eye when I communicate. This strengthened my performance. I could learn sign language because of my training in dance.
Your look and costume in the film has already set a benchmark...
I was particular that the outfits blend with the character. So I settled down for a ‘pavda dhvani’ for the scenes. Salwar kameez is something that I can wear anytime, but the other look was special and I stuck to that. The makeup is also very basic and minimal. To achieve this, I had a good team on board. Once I stepped on to the set, I never had to look at the mirror. It was that perfect. I concentrated on delivering what the director wanted.
Your love for love stories is well known...
Love is a strong emotion that is capable of moving mountains, transforming people's lives and stopping wars. The core of trust, understanding and empathy stems from love. Love stories give you the chance to portray a range of emotions and you begin to enjoy that process because there is poetry in it too. Also my love for Sufi music, dance and tradition comes from my childhood.
Are you among those waiting to get back to the theatre and the shooting set?
There's a magical feeling about watching a movie in a theatre and I would never trade that for anything. There are a couple of my films that are ready for a theatrical release in almost all languages and I would not want to miss watching it on the big screen. OTT is huge now and I am glad that 'Sufiyum Sujatayum' has had a great opening and continues to do well on OTT. Even those who don't know the language have watched it. That's why I believe love is a universal language.