AT A GLANCE
Debut: Kya Mast Hai Life, a Disney TV mini series (2009-10)
Notable ads: Tata Sky, McDonald’s, Tata Tea
Short films: Sujata, The Trip
Feature films: Masaan (2015)  

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She stole the show as the spunky Shalu in Cannes double winner Masaan. Shweta Tripathi goes the hatke route once more… the 31-year-old actress plays a 15-year-old schoolgirl in Haraamkhor. A t2 chat.

Haraamkhor was meant to be your first film, but Masaan released first. Is the release of a first film always special? 
Every film is special, but the thrill of that first film is definitely something else. There are a lot of emotions and learnings attached to Haraamkhor and that’s why I would keep asking the director, Shlok (Sharma) and (producer) Anurag (Kashyap) Sir ki ‘Kya ho raha hai… film kab release ho rahi hai? Is there anything I can do to help release it?’ I always knew that this is a film that would release at some point of time… even if it was a couple of years later. This is a very important film and frankly, the feeling that this film is releasing this Friday still hasn’t sunk in. 

The wait for the film to release must have been very frustrating… 
More than frustrating, it was heartbreaking. We had made this film with very good intentions and I knew that Shlok’s idea was always to make good cinema. Our intention was never to start a controversy with this film. We finished shooting in just 16 days and we sent it to festivals where it got a massive response and we thought releasing it in theatres would be a simple process. Everyone who watched it had only good things to say about Haraamkhor. When I heard it had got stuck at the censor, I couldn’t believe it and I was like: ‘What’s there to censor in this?!’

How did you react when you were told you had to play a 14-year-old schoolgirl?
I was very surprised, to be honest. I was 26-27 at that time… I am 31 now. I know that I am blessed in the sense that I don’t really look my age, but playing a 14-year-old meant taking a lot of care of myself… sab junk food khana bandh! Becoming a 14-year-old in character was definitely very tough because I have left that age behind years ago. 

As far as the subject is concerned, I never had second thoughts whether I should do it or not. I know my parents are very proud that I did a film like Haraamkhor. They never told me ki ‘Beta, itna bold role kyun kiya?’ And even when I was told about the film, I didn’t find anything controversial in it. I feel very blessed because to have someone write a role for you when you don’t have a big daddy in the industry is a huge, huge deal. So when the offer came to me, all I saw in it were the positives. 

A 14-year-old from small-town India in a relationship with her married teacher. Was there ever a point where Sandhya and Shweta met?
There are absolutely no similarities between Sandhya and me… and that’s how I like it to be with the characters I play. They should be as far different as possible from what and who I am. 

Were there any instances where you had to convince yourself to behave in a certain way or speak a certain line?
Getting into character was difficult because I am very logical and practical and Sandhya isn’t. I did have certain issues, especially about this schoolgirl in love with a much older married man who also happens to be her teacher and I would keep asking Shlok: ‘Why does she do this? It’s so wrong!’ But then slowly I started thinking more like Sandhya and less like Shweta. Once I understood what’s propelling her actions and thought process, I just let it flow, without thinking of the repercussions of what Sandhya says or does.

You won a Best Actress award for Haraamkhor two years ago, which probably makes you the only actor in the world to win an award even before your first film had released!
(Laughs) That’s true! Haraamkhor was shown at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles in April 2015 and Masaan released in July the same year. It was the first film festival I ever went to in my life (giggles) and Haraamkhor was the opening film. I remember on the closing day my heels were hurting me a lot and I just wanted to go to my room and get them off. And then I saw the trophy and it looked so beautiful and I thought: ‘I want one of those!’ But I kept telling myself I won’t win one. And when my name was announced, I was like: ‘Huh?! What?! Huh?! What?!’ (Laughs) I won it with Kalki (Koechlin)… she got it for Margarita with a Straw… and that was so special because Kalki is a woman and an actor I really look up to. I remember I went up and just simply said: ‘This is my first film… my first film festival… and my first award’. 

Now that Haraamkhor is finally releasing, I just want to tell the audience that this film has been made with a lot of heart and hard work. We didn’t do it for the money… we just wanted to tell a story. We’ve waited so long for this Friday and it’s finally here. So please give us two hours of your time and we won’t let you down.   

PR