'I can be a badass girl'

'If I look in a certain way, have an innocent face, I will only get offers for the girl-next-door roles.'
'As an actor and creative person, you want to explore and experiment more but you don’t get the opportunity.'
'That gets frustrating at times.'

Manjari Fadnnis plays an intense character in the new Web Series, Barot House.

The psychological thriller, which co-stars Amit Sadh, sees her having to deal with the trauma of losing a child.

"My character in Barot House is way more intense than my previous characters. It will be a new beginning for me," Manjari tells Rediff.com Contributor Divya Solgama.

Tell us about Barot House.

It’s a psychological thriller and is inspired from true events.

It’s about the Barot family and every member has his/ her own issues.

But overall, they are a happy family.

An unfortunate incident happens, and what happens to the family, forms the crux of the story.

It’s about how relationships change when something dramatic and unfortunate happens.

Any interesting memories from the shoot?

I still remember a scene the director Bugs Bhargava explained to me.

It was a very moving scene and I had tears in my eyes.

The way Bugs shot it was exceptional.

He wanted me to scream loudly, and he wanted me to practice from Day one.

I had to send three different screams every day to Bugs through voice mail.

Once, Bugs was at a meeting and he almost played my scream. We still laugh about it, what if he had actually played it in front of everyone!

When I would practice at home, I would be worried if somebody would call up the police!

Thankfully, that did not happen.

Was the scene taxing?

Yes. It was truly intense on the day of the shoot.

My character in Barot House goes through a lot of depression because she loses her child.

We shot for 20 days, nonstop, and I had to keep myself in that zone.

I would constantly remind myself of my sad emotional moments, things that I didn’t wanted to think about.

Normally, I tend to switch-on and switch-off easily when the shoot gets over.

But while doing that scene, it took me at least an hour after the shoot to switch off.

Do you feel your acting potential has not been tapped until now? Did Barot House give you the right platform to showcase your talent?

Yes. I believe I can do a lot more as an actor than what I have had opportunity to do.

Unfortunately, in our industry we have a mind set.

For instance, if somebody has worked with a particular image, they get typecast.

If I look in a certain way, have an innocent face, I will only get offers for the girl-next-door roles.

As an actor and creative person, you want to explore and experiment more but you don’t get the opportunity.

That gets frustrating at times.

But people get a chance to experiment on the OTT platform and that's why get more opportunities to showcase their talent. For instance, Bugs realised I can play much more than what I have done so far, and I'm so thankful for this opportunity.

Did your film Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na create that image, which you find difficult to break?

No. Luckily, I had the opportunity to do different kinds of characters.

I played a challenging character in the survival thriller film, Warning.

I played a different role in the Disney film, Zokkomon.

Sadly, they did not turn out well.

But my character in Barot House is way more intense than my previous characters. It will be a new beginning for me.

 

Are you comfortable taking up roles in gangster-related shows, which have crude language?

Definitely!

I can be a badass girl (laughs).

I would happily do raw characters. 

What's next for you?

Apart from acting, singing has been a part of my life since I was three years old.

I belong to a musical family.

But that has been on the backburner for a long time now.

Now, I am ready to explore my musical side and share it with the audience. I

have worked on a couple of singles that I will try and pitch to music labels.