Radhika Apte in Antaheen

Mumbai-based Marathi girl Radhika Apte is the centre of attraction in Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s Antaheen. Radhika tells t2 about playing a TV journalist and sharing screen space with her icon...

What is your role in Antaheen?

I play a young television journalist called Brinda Roy Menon. Brinda is half-Bengali, half-south Indian and she is a workaholic. I am quite fascinated to play a journalist. Brinda connects with a person on the Net one day.

Could you relate to the characters and the story of Antaheen?

See, the story of Antaheen unfolds in a metro city and so it’s easy to relate to the characters, their lifestyles and relationships. These are people who you and I may have come across too. For instance, my character Brinda stays far away from her parents. She is not dependent on anyone and has lots of friends, maybe a boyfriend too. I could relate to her. Brinda comes close to Paro (Aparna Sen) whose relationship with her husband (Kalyan Ray) is affected by the kind of life they lead. It’s something that is happening today. We live in a similar society, which is reflected in Antaheen. The language wasn’t a barrier either. We had a workshop with Sohagdi (Sen) before shooting and that helped.

Did the presence of veterans like Sharmila Tagore and Aparna Sen make you jittery?

I didn’t have any scene with Sharmila Tagore. My interactions were entirely with Rahul and Aparnadi (Sen). I have been a big fan of Aparna Sen throughout my life and so I was indeed a bit intimidated thinking that I might not be able to perform with her…. You know stuff like, what if I get nervous during a scene and all that. Before I started shooting I went to Calcutta for a look test and Tony (Aniruddha) told me that Aparnadi would be coming over. When she came, she made me feel comfortable instantly. She was so amazing to work with! Later I would clarify my doubts with her while shooting.

And Rahul?

I knew Rahul, so there was no tension. In fact, he is the one who had recommended me to Tony. Rahul had seen me perform in Anahita Oberoi’s play Bombay Black.... It was great fun working with the Antaheen team. All my silly doubts were heard and cleared.