Fresh from the success of Article 370 where she plays a bureaucrat at the PMO, actress Priya Mani is all set for Ajay Devgn-starrer Maidaan to work its magic at the box office. Priya Mani chatted with us about her role in Maidaan, working with Ajay Devgn and her other projects.
Tell us about Maidaan. The film had its own journey.
Priya Mani: Finally, Maidaan is seeing the light of day and I can’t wait for people to see it.
How did you get the role in Maidaan?
Priya Mani: I got the role only because of Boney Kapoor sir. I have immense love and respect for him. We have a very special journey. He knows my husband really well. They have worked very closely. So, through my husband, I got this opportunity. Bonisa called my husband and said, ‘Tumhari biwi karegi kya yeh role?’
I wanted to work with him as well. I didn’t see any reason why I should say no to such a film. I remember I went to his office the next day and met director Amit Sharma. We got the narration first and then I did the look test. And then I was in the film. I’m so happy I got to play a part in it. Yes, I worked only for 15 days for the film with Ajay (Devgn) sir, but those are the best 15 days I’ve ever worked.
Tell us about working with Ajay Devgn on Maidaan.
Priya Mani: The approach is different. I think the balance that sir has created with the character is great. He plays Rahim Sahib. I play his wife Saira. A lot of ups and downs in her character also, in terms of twists and turns as there are a lot of nice scenes between her and Rahim Sahib. She is the emotional support. When he is not there at home, she holds the fort. She’s there to direct him in the right way. Whenever he is at a crossroads, she says, look, this is what you should do. She is his support, come what may. And I can’t wait for people to watch it and I hope they like our pairing.
How does Ajay Devgn approach the character? Did you notice the way he functions?
Priya Mani: I think he keeps it very real. And it depends on the character he is playing. His eyes speak volumes. His body language speaks volumes. The way he has portrayed Rahim Sahib is phenomenal, the way he has moulded himself because we have shown the ’50s and the ’60s. His approach is so nice that he may not even need to say anything, but his eyes say a lot.
When you are portraying a character based on a real person, what are the things that you aim to imbibe about her?
Priya Mani: Nothing much. I think from my side I just want to make it as convincing and as real as possible. That’s the approach I take for any character for that matter. It could be a character based on real life or it could be a fictional character.
How did you work on your character Rajeshwari in Article 370?
Priya Mani: The poise, the walk, the body language, I believe that that’s how bureaucrats are, especially at an office like the PMO. You are playing a person of power. That’s how you are supposed to be. The information that was passed on to me by Aditya Jambhale (director) and Aditya Dhar (producer) was that Rajeshwari is a person of power. She commands respect, she commands her subordinates to do whatever she has to. Yet there is a calm in her voice, in her tone, in her approach to handling the situation. They just told me that Rajeshwari is like that and the rest of the things just flowed, and I am so happy that it has worked.
Was the character based on any particular bureaucrat? Did you meet anyone?
Priya Mani: No, I hadn’t met anybody. I don’t know whether it is based on one person or many people who became Rajeshwari at the end. But yeah, it was inspired by somebody or some people at the office.
You and Yami Gautam complemented each other so well. How did you prepare for your scenes?
Priya Mani: There was no prep at all at least when it came to us. I think we were quite sure about the scene and how we were supposed to approach it. Yes, we did a soft rehearsal. We did what we felt was right then, especially with the monologue scene of ours. Here Rajeshwari comes and visits her at home. There was no rehearsal at all for that particular scene. I think we just went with the flow.
Yami had a two-page monologue and I did not want her concentration to get disrupted. No matter how many angles we shot the scene in, I wanted hers to be as right as possible because she was just erupting like a volcano at that point. She’s just saying whatever she went through, whatever Kashmir is going through.
The characters are beautifully designed. Yami was going to be on the field. Her character is hot-tempered but for the right reasons. Rajeshwari, on the other hand, is calm in the face of the storm and she handles everything very diplomatically so that there’s no problem for anybody at the end of the day. Rajeshwari appoints Zooni because she knows that she’s the best and can deliver results.
The film has done great numbers at the box office. What do you think has worked for the film?
Priya Mani: Predominantly it’s the subject that draws the audience. If the story is good and if the subject is captivating enough, that itself speaks volumes. You have a lot of people coming in, you have repeat audiences. Word of mouth happens and automatically the numbers will increase.
What is the status of The Family Man Season 3?
Priya Mani: We are going to start shooting soon.
