After playing heavy-duty roles for most of her career, actress Patralekhaa is happy to have been part of a comedy film – Wild Wild Punjab, directed by Simarpreet Singh and streaming on Netflix. Produced by Luv Ranjan, the film features Varun Sharma, Sunny Singh, Jassie Gill and Manjot Singh. Patralekhaa talked to us about being part of a boy gang in the film, her upcoming release Phule, and her journey as an actor so far.

With Wild Wild Punjab, you had a film release after a long time. How are you feeling?

Patralekhaa: I am happy that my film found a bigger audience. I am happy that it is streaming on such a respectful platform (Netflix). Am I anxious? No. I am just happy, yaar.

What was your reaction when the role of Radha was offered to you?

Patralekhaa: Wild Wild Punjab was one of those rare films for which I didn’t have to audition. Otherwise, for every part that I have got so far I had to audition. I remember Luv (Ranjan) sir calling me one evening, ‘Free hai kya?’ I was dubbing for Pradeep Sarkar’s short film at that time. I went and met Luv sir. He told me about the film in two-three lines and asked, ‘Karegi kya?’ I said yes and left, not knowing when the shooting would start.

But those two-three lines stayed with me. Mostly, I have played roles that are heavy on emotions and drama. Wild Wild Punjab seemed like a young, fun film and I was pretty excited for this.

What were those two-three lines from Luv Ranjan about?

Patralekhaa: He said, ‘There’s a boy who’s going to tell his girl – I’m over you. And he goes there with one of his friends. You’ll be the bride one of them gets married to. Radha is a simple girl and she gets on the ride with these boys.’ He told me one thing that made me go ‘wow’. He said, ‘You’re going to take out an AK47 and fire at goons.’

I found it very interesting that in an all-boys film, I’m the one who’s firing a gun. Then he told me about the cast members – Varun Sharma, Sunny Singh and Manjot Singh. These are my friends. I knew them from before and it was nice to do a film with them.

Tell us more about Radha.

Patralekhaa: She is a simpleton from Pind; quite innocent. She has to get married to one of the guys and she does. She also leaves home with these boys and things get shittier from there and she becomes a part of this boy gang. It is a fun film.

What did you like the most about doing Wild Wild Punjab?

Patralekhaa: I loved the comedy genre. It seems pretty easy but it is extremely tough. I really enjoyed being in a comedy. It was easy in the sense that I didn’t have to go back with a heavy heart. With dramas what happens is that you take a part of your day back home. I am unable to disconnect immediately. It takes some time for me to unwind and detach my professional life from my personal life. But here it was not that hard because we were having fun most of the time. That’s what I enjoyed the most about doing this film.

Do you have any expectations from the film in terms of work?

Patralekhaa: Honestly, no. I am just happy that people in many countries are going to watch it. I am always hopeful that one opportunity leads to another. As the saying goes, work attracts more work. I’m sure there will be more possibilities.

You have some interesting releases coming up, including the biopic Phule. How do you look at this phase in your decade-long career?

Patralekhaa: It is a good phase that I am going through. I am sure that my best phase is yet to come. I have given a lot in the last three years. It’s been tough. I was grieving the loss of my father and yet working continuously. Perhaps work saved me. I have gotten to play such varied characters, from Radha to Savitribai Phule.

I really hope that I have done justice to Savitribai Phule because she is someone I look up to. She has changed a lot for the girl child in our country but not many people know about her existence. So, I am very excited and honoured to be a part of Phule.

It’s been really nice dabbling with different genres and characters, one being so different from the other. Meeting so many people on the set, working with such prolific minds, and directors who are so different from one another. It’s really been a learning experience and my heart is full, in the sense that my first seven years were very difficult because I didn’t have much work. I feel happy and satisfied but I know that I have so much more to give.

You made a promising debut with CityLights in 2014 but that did not bring too many roles. What happened?

Patralekhaa: I didn’t get any offers. I was sitting at home. I really don’t know what happened. If I knew what didn’t work, I would have tried to make it work. Something seriously didn’t work but I don’t have an idea of what that was.

Did you ever lose faith in your journey as an actor? There must have been low phases.

Patralekhaa: I didn’t lose faith in my journey. I was very sure about it. There were very bad lows but I think that’s what made me stronger. It made me go at it even harder. In my journey, I have met really nice people. Very artistic people. You have to love what you do and you have to give it your hundred per cent. Nothing else works here. Only persistence and perseverance. That’s what I have learnt working in the film industry.

What kind of cinema do you want to be associated with?

Patralekhaa: I want to work with really good filmmakers because you get to learn so much from a good filmmaker. Your creativity gets enhanced.