Exclusive interview: “I want to be as authentic as I can in whatever I do”: Actress Urvashi Rautela

Her journey from the beautiful hills of Uttarakhand to the city of dreams Mumbai, has been a learning experience. She feels responsible as an actress, today.

Urvashi’s latest release Virgin Bhanupriya is streaming now on Zee5. The beauty queen talks to Indus Age in an exclusive interview where she explains how in this film female desires take center stage’ and more.

By  Nidhi Kumari

How do you see your journey, so far?

I feel accomplished as I came here with zero expectations. Virgin Bhanupriya is my second female centric film after Hate Story 4. Somewhere down the line because of this film, I kind of became a responsible artist because the entire film is about a female and it was a very powerful role and you kind of get an assurance that you know when a producer is putting a lot of money in a film like Virgin Bhanupriya, so it kind of gives you a validation of a bankable star and a bankable artist. There are so many other films with a very sensitive topic like in this film also the topic is about ‘virginity’ and it is a  journey of a girl but in a very sophisticated and a very classy way; like  you can watch it with your entire family.  Just like how my colleagues if I talk about ‘Vicky Donor’ by Ayushmann Khurrana,  the whole film was about sperm donation which is again a sensitive topic, ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’ on body shaming, ‘Shubh Mnagal Savdhan’ on same sex marriage, Akshay Kumar sir’s ‘Padman’ about periods.

In all these films of my colleague the central character was a male character and here is the first I’m talking about where the female desire takes the center stage. I’m very proud to be a part of this film.

Virginity in a nation like ours is a taboo; there is a lot of stigma attached to it. Virginity is stigmatized and at the same time, this is seen as less of a social blessing and more of a social curse, so all we are trying to explain here is that virginity is circumstantial and no amount of the peer pressure from a society or from the atmosphere where you live in from other human beings you should feel forced. That we should not do it because of someone else’s pressure. I mean it is circumstantial whenever the true love has to come will come and you know it happens so differently and in different age in everybody’s life.  You can’t compare your life to others and it is a personal decision no one else should force here when it comes to this.

India is a land of contrast where we see so many sensual sculptures and temples and India is a land of

Kama Sutra so in Vedic era there was so much they all had open mindsets Maharajah’s and all these used to discuss. They used to discuss premarital sex and everything and I think due to the British colonization, India somehow became double standard when it comes to virginity, I mean now in rural areas as well, the girls and women over there especially they have to go through so many surgical procedures because they want to remain pure in front of their spouses in the eyes of the other family. Also, in so many matrimonial ads  you will see that the most important factor is that the girl should be a sort after virgin  in all the matrimonial ads whatever you read in newspaper, the first paragraph is that the girl needs to be a virgin but why is  this question never asked to a guy?  That is a main question.  In modern era where we are talking everything about being modern, but somehow people have become so conservative. I really hope with sex education which is taught in school people become aware and they kind of become open and have an open mindset towards this.

Did you have fun shooting the film?

Yeah, I had a lot of fun shooting for it because it’s a straightforward comedy and this movie is going to be the perfect weekend watch; it’s already streaming on Zee5  so everyone should go and just watch the film on Zee5 premium with the entire family.

What do you have to keep in mind as an actor that the humour should be in good humour and that it should not offend someone?

My responsibility ends when I get the first narration and read the entire script because I know that how this is going to happen? What is in the film? What the dialogues are like and what’s going to happen? So, then I’m aware about every single thing and when me and my director are on the same page so I think that’s where you know the problem is kind of sorted. My director has presented this in a very beautiful way and not in a hard-hitting way or vulgar way.  I think that’s the power of cinema that you can actually portray or showcase the awareness which you want to regarding the topic in an aesthetically beautiful manner and in a very comical way so.

I’m really very grateful and I feel blessed that I receive so much of love and appreciation from my fans and whenever I choose a film or even for like any brand  endorsement , I  always make sure that I have to justify it. Whenever my name is attached to any of the film or any brand I would just want to be associated with whatever I would personally watch or personally use.

So, I just want to be as authentic as I can in terms of my approach towards whatever I do. The biggest Fulfillment will be when people say that ‘oh my god that Uradhi looked like Bhanupriya and they enjoy watching the film’.

Tell us about your exceptional dancing skills and what should we expect in this film?

I have two amazing dance numbers in the film one is ‘Beat pe thumka’. It is like a shadi kind of a song. We all can grove to it. The other is a  club dance number. The lyrics are like ‘shadi ki night…dulhan ka face dekho mare ye light hai;, I Don’t know why but for 5 seconds, I got into the zone that ‘meri sach much ki shadi ho rahi h’ (I am actually getting married).

I think choreographer played a major role in me thinking that it is my real marriage happening . It was kind of an emotional moment also.

What is the secret behind your beautiful ever smiling face?

I think the love of my family, my fans and my loved ones. I call my fans as my family  because they are my extended family.

I would say that the lockdown also in a way taught us in so many different ways. I have found my happiness in inner peace and I’m enjoying every single moment. I’m just enjoying the nature I started enjoying looking at trees,  our mother nature. And I just say that all of us kind of start taking everything for granted but this lockdown has taught me to enjoy our natural resources and things which we get for free, from the mother earth like free air. This beauty and everything I would say are all priceless and we’re so happy that we are getting all of this.

Watch the full interview on YouTube channel of Indus Age at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd-A40oVVaA

Your role model in life: My parents

Your favorite actor from Bollywood:  Amitabh Bachan and from Hollywood Tom Cruise

Your favorite fruit: Avocado

Who is the last person you think off before going off the screen: Mummy J