Feel blessed to work with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra: Mrunal Thakur
(Sourced from PTI)
Actor Mrunal Thakur says she entered Bollywood with a dream to work with filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra but never imagined the opportunity would come so early on in her career with Toofaan. In the upcoming sports drama headlined by actor Farhan Akhtar, Thakur plays Ananya, a doctor who is instrumental in transforming its protagonist Aziz Ali from a henchman to a professional boxer.
Even before officially meeting the director of acclaimed films like Rang De Basanti and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Thakur recalled how she was "extremely nervous" when Mehra showed up during the dubbing of Nikkhil Advani's 2019 drama Batla House in which she played the female lead. Later, when the duo discussed Toofaan, Thakur said that she was surprised by the faith Mehra showed in her.
"Rakeysh sir didn't know I'm a Maharashtrian and the character we were discussing... was also one. I knew... I had to work hard for the film," Thakur said. "I thought it would take me at least 15 films to even get that opportunity but I'm blessed that I got it at such an initial stage of my career," she added.
Starting out on television with the popular soap opera Kumkum Bhagya (2014-2016), Thakur transitioned to Hindi films with the acclaimed 2018 drama Love Sonia and gained further recognition in 2019 with Hrithik Roshan-starrer Super 30 and Batla House headlined by John Abraham.
The 28-year-old actor further said that her role, Ananya, in the upcoming movie has the potential to "inspire" people, especially filmmakers, to write stronger female parts. "This is one of the meatiest characters I got a chance to perform. I feel fortunate to have played the role. Characters like these are not written often," Thakur added.
Despite being new to Bollywood, Thakur said she is in no hurry to prove herself. "Even if I do one-two films a year, I want to be completely into it. My agenda is that the audience should be able to associate with it. I want to change the way people look at actresses with the roles I play," she added.
Toofaan, which is produced by Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani's banner Excel Entertainment along with Mehra's ROMP Pictures, is scheduled to be released on Amazon Prime Video on July 16. Meanwhile, Thakur will also be seen in Shahid Kapoor-starrer Jersey.
