'I am getting beaten up a lot'

'I have never played a character like that before -- very non-glamourous and hard-hitting.'

Tanishaa Mukerji is thrilled to play a Muslim character for the first time in her career in the spy thriller Code Name Abdul.

Directed by Eshwar Guntur, the film has been getting positive reviews after it released in theatres last week.

"I want people to see me in this new avatar," Tanishaa, who is down with coronavirus, tells Rediff.com Contributor Mohnish Singh over the phone.

You were seen in Code Name Abdul.

Code Name Abdul is a spy thriller.

For the first time, I am playing a Muslim character.

My character Salma gets kidnapped by these four R&AW agents and is interrogated by them through the film. It is quite gritty and violent.

I am getting beaten up a lot.

I have never played a character like that before -- very non-glamourous and hard-hitting.

I want people to see me in this new avatar.

How did this project come about?

My director Eshwar (Gunturu) approached me on Facebook. He sent me the script and I loved it.

I loved how he had written it.

But he was not convinced that I would be able to play Salma. He had just sent me the script and was like, 'I have another option also.'

But I was like, 'No, no, I love this character of Salma.'

He was like, 'But you always play a glamorous girl and this is a very non-glamourous, like she has got blood on her face, she is beaten up. There is no make-up. It's a very hard character.'

He was very apprehensive about me being able to play this role and I really had to convince him.

He rehearsed the whole film with me like a play, and then we shot it in New York and Philadelphia.

It has been almost four years since the film wrapped up production. Why the delay in release?

Actually, the film was not completely ready in 2017.

Eshwar is a director in America; I was in India.

The thing with Eshwar is that he has not made this film like a typical Hindi film director; he has made this film like a Hollywood film director.

We shot on live locations.

Our sound engineer was an American, our cameraman was an American for most of the portions of film.

In Hollywood, they take two-three years to make a film and don't think anything of it, that's what happened with our film.

Then because of COVID, everything went into shutdown. We had already announced that our film was releasing and the theatres shut down.

But if you look at our film, it is a very realistically made film.

Eshwar has a very Tarantino style of film-making.

At any given point of time, did the makers think of releasing it on an OTT platform?

No, and that I think is credit to the makers that they were willing to wait.

Today, when a Sooryavanshi has done well, people are applauding Rohit Shetty for waiting, right?

The credit goes to the film-makers to wait because, at the end of the day, it is making your budget go up but they believe in their project.

And you can never take away the experience of cinema.

Watching a film on a big screen is something I love.

I would rather watch a film on big screen with popcorn and that whole feeling.

I am sick of watching movies on my TV screen. 

You must have seen a lot of shows on OTT platform during the pandemic.

OTT definitely has its own charm, right?

Binge watching a show continuously for 10 episodes is great on OTT.

I recently saw Red Notice and I loved it on OTT. But I think I would have enjoyed it more on screen.

I think, OTT, for me, is binge-watching shows.

And, of course, to watch classics like Transformers again and again!

Is there any streaming show that you loved and want it to be remade in Hindi with you playing a character in it?

Game of Thrones and I want to play Queen of Dragon because I have always wanted a pet dragon.

Do you remember playing games with your sister Kajol and giving each other code names?

No, we never gave code names to each other because my sister and I did not play games together. She's much older than me.

I used to play with my younger cousin.

I had a lot of friends in the building.

We had wild imaginations and the terrace was our hideout.

You have tested positive for coronavirus. How have you been dealing with it?

I am very, very cautious.

I would never want to infect anybody; I think that's a responsibility everybody has.

I am not even interacting with my staff or my help.

I am feeling fine.

I am double vaccinated, and have no symptoms.

How did you survive the lockdown?

I don't think you should ask me this question. I am a very privileged and blessed person.

I am very lucky that I have the space that I have.

I am very lucky that I have the people around me to help me.

For me, the first lockdown was great.

I was happy to sit at home, sit, chant and meditate. Work on my inner self, do a lot of yoga.

The second lockdown was also great because my mom was with me and I was very happy to have her. We used to sit and chill, watch movies together, etc.

Both lockdowns made me realise that I should really be grateful for all the blessings that I have because there are a lot of people out there that are finding it very difficult.

They don't have space, they don't have the means to take care of themselves.

I think a lot of it was our responsibility to look out for other people.

Are you following the ongoing season of Bigg Boss?

No, what is happening in Bigg Boss though?

If the makers invite you, would you like to enter the show again?

No. I have decided you should put Abdul in Bigg Boss.

Yeah, put Code Name Abdul in Bigg Boss.

So watch the movie first and find out who is code name Abdul and then put him in Bigg Boss.