As the young wife of an aging artist, Radhika Apte brought an understated sensuality to her role in Sujoy Ghosh’s latest short film “Ahalya”, which is director’s feminist take on the famous mythological story.
She liked the fact that despite being a seductress, her character had a certain innocence and simplicity.
“It was a unique character of a seductress and yet so simple. There was nothing flashy about it. It was very simple and subtle. The experimentation with the look is also like that, the way she walks and sits… I am happy it has paid off,” said Radhika.
The actress, who has been getting rave reviews from the audience and the critics for the 14-minute-long short, said it was a wish come true to work with the filmmaker and share screen space with veteran Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee again.
“The two foremost reasons for me to do ‘Ahalya’ were Sujoy, who is a fantastic story-teller and a great filmmaker and Soumitra da, with whom I had worked previously on a Bengali film. I couldn’t believe I was getting to work with him again. I am a big fan of his work.”
For Radhika, playing Ahalya was not difficult as Sujoy helped her to get the nuances right.
“He guided me through it quite unknowingly. It did not feel like I was taking any effort to do anything. The transformation and the look also contributed a lot. Working with Soumitra da and Tota (Roy Chowdhury) added to it. Soumitra da is so charming and effortless that when you are opposite him, you immediately get relaxed. It was wonderful,” she said.
The movie, which hit the internet on Tuesday, is getting rave reviews for its modern take on the age old myth of Ahalya, the wife of the sage Gautama Maharishi, was seduced by Indra and cursed by her husband for infidelity.
Radhika is now looking forward to the release of her two upcoming films, Ketan Mehta’s “Manjhi- The Mountain Man” opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Kunal Kapoor-starrer “Kaun Kitne Paani Mei”.
