Imagine Khardung La at minus 15 degree Centigrade. Imagine wearing a light, hand-woven sari, and dancing in the snow. That’s what Aditi Rao Hydari did while shooting for ‘Vaan Varuvaan’. “But, I would like to look at the positives. I was the tiniest on the set. I got the maximum hugs. And working with Mani sir is worth risking every little discomfort.”
handout
That was a few months ago. On Monday evening, the actress sported a classic, green sari and looked every bit like Leela (the character she plays in the film) at a tête-à-tête with Paloma Rao, VJ, at the Page 3 Luxury Salon. The evening also saw enthusiastic fans quizzing Hydari about the problematic relationship between the hero and the heroine in the film. One young fan wanted to know her take on the abusive element in the romance. Hydari said, “It is a true love situation. There are problems in every relationship. And, Leela, like every other Mani Ratnam heroine, was acting out of her own choice. She is a beautifully textured character. When we are in love, we do stupid things. They might not be logical.”
Matters of the heart
H ydari’s reflections on Leela had the attention of all fans. “What if a woman decides that a man is the one for her? The minute after Karthi’s character says abominable things, he also says with equal tenderness that he will die without her. It can be very hard for the girl to hate such a man. She knows he has no control over what he is doing.”
About Varun, the character played by Karthi, Hydari says there are many like him, who we find in real life. “They sound as if they do not care. But, they actually do. They look hard from the outside, but they are extremely vulnerable.” And, Leela is a deep and layered character. “She is feminine and vulnerable, but she is also stubborn and head-strong.”
aditi
And, being an actress, essaying deep and intense roles like these, she cannot afford to pass judgement on the characters, says Hydari. “You have to be open if you are enacting a character. You have to make it your own. I do not want to judge Leela. After all, everyone has a story.”
She got candid about the making of Kaatru Veliyidai . The actress said that during the scenes shot in the snow, she did not have any make-up on. “We have used delicate, soft and hand-spun fabric. At the same time, it is not chiffon. There is a difference. It is of natural texture.”
She also had to try out different attire before Mani Ratnam finally settled on Leela’s defining garments. “We had to go through eight million trials before Mani sir was fine with it ( laughs ). From kedia tops and loose kurtas to churidars and palazzos, I tried out everything.”
How was the experience of being a Mani Ratnam heroine? “He is a master of romance and relationship, and once I read the script of Kaatru Veliyidai , I wanted to play Leela,” says Hydari.
She had to work on her language the most. “I came to Chennai for 10 days to work on my language. I never wanted to hear a statement like ‘for a non-Tamil speaker she has done well’. I divided the script day-wise and I burst into tears when I found that I had to learn so many dialogues by rote every day. Mani Sir and Karthi would speak more in Tamil on the sets. It’s through their love for the language that I was able to work on my dialogues.”
“Where did you get the energy to work so hard?” asked Rao. “Faith gave me the energy to work. And for me, acting is a very safe, secure place. For me, work is more of going for events and branding. Acting is not ‘work’, as I enjoy doing it.”
The session ended with Hydari yielding to our request to sing ‘Vaan Varuvaan’, a version that has already become a rage online. It was like watching the film. She sounded exactly like Leela.
