Radhika Apte has received immense critical acclaim this year for her performances in Badlapur and Hunterrr. She was also seen in Stories by Rabindranath Tagore, a TV series directed by Anurag Basu. And now, her short film Ahalya has gone viral. Directed by Sujoy Ghosh, the spooky Bengali film is based on Ahalya, a character from The Ramayana. The 29-year-old plays a seductress married to a famous, ageing artist (played by the legendary Soumitra Chatterjee). In a quick tete-a-tete after Ahalya stormed YouTube, Radhika — who had debuted in Tollywood with Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s Antaheen back in 2009 — talks about fangirling around Soumitra Chatterjee and enjoying a busy ’15.

Congratulations on one million views for Ahalya...

We’ve crossed a million?! Wow! Really? I had no clue. Thank you for telling me. 
[By Monday afternoon, the number of views had touched 3.5 million]

You are very welcome... 

The reactions have been so good. People have been telling me that they got spooked. Also, I guess they didn’t expect something like this in 14 minutes (laughs).
 

You’ve done a few short films in the past. What about Ahalya do you think made it go viral?

It’s a really well-made film. Sujoy shot it like a feature film. What I mean is in terms of the aesthetics and detailing, it doesn’t look like a regular short film. Apart from this, there is obviously Sujoy’s expertise at storytelling, especially when it comes to thrillers. 

Ahalya gave you a chance to work with Soumitra Chatterjee again...

Yes! I did a film called Rupkatha Noy (directed by Atanu Ghosh) with him a couple of years ago. I was a nervous wreck through that film. I was in awe of him. I didn’t want to mess up my lines and be the reason why he’d have to do another take. Can you imagine the horror?! I have been a huge fan of his since my college days when I saw his films at a (Satyajit) Ray festival. 

And was the experience better this time?

(Laughs) Yes, yes! He met me with so much warmth. I wasn’t nervous at all. We shot together for just three days, but we got to chat much. We talked about everything under the sun!

Ahalya took you back to Calcutta after a gap... 

That’s right. It had been more than a year. But my trip was really short this time. We shot only for three days. But I got to eat some amazing food, thanks to Sujoy. He would stop at every mithai shop on the way to the set and order tons of sweets. It’s impossible to eat right around Sujoy!

How do you view the opening of this new medium for films?

It’s just the beginning and it’s brilliant. Look, all of us are experimenting and finding our way around. Any format that allows us to express ourselves as artistes is always welcome. This is bringing theatres to your phone and everyone is loving it. This is the future. Online content is only growing. 

Earlier this year, you were also a part of Anurag Basu’s teleseries Stories by Rabindranath Tagore…

Chokher Bali was a great experience. The character (Binodini) was so layered and ahead of its time. it was an absolute pleasure. Like Ahalya, Chokher Bali didn’t feel like a TV series. Anurag (Basu) shot like it a film. You have to credit Epic, the channel, for not only giving the kind of budgets they did but also the freedom to realise Anurag’s vision. 

A review of Ahalya called you the go-to ‘bold’ actress of the moment. Are you worried about getting typecast? 

That’s a strange comment to make. I have done so many films in multiple languages where I have been covered up. So, where does the question of becoming a ‘bold’ actress come from? I have never played a seductress before. No one has ever offered me a role like this before. If one is talking about Badlapur, there is a world of difference between what that character (Koko) had to go through vis-a-vis Ahalya.

This has been a very busy year for you. You’ve had Badlapur and Hunterrr and now the promos of Manjhi: The Mountain Man and Kaun Kitney Paani Mein are out... 

This has been a very exciting year. I have got some amazing feedback to my work. The two promos that are out are older films that are releasing now. They are both very different, so I am curious to see how they are received. I haven’t signed anything new as yet. I am in no big hurry to jump into a film. I want to take my time and wait for something that excites me.

Send us your 50-word review of Ahalya at t2@abp.in