Mumbai: Actress Madhu Kandhari, who is best known for ‘Hush Hush’, ‘Delhi Crime 2’ and ‘Pal Pal Dil ke Paas’, is now being seen as Nirmala Devi in ‘Gandhi Godse: Ek Yudh’, helmed by director Rajkumar Santoshi.
The actress talked about her character and her experience of working with film’s director Rajkumar Santoshi.
Praising Santoshi, Madhu said: “He is an institution himself. He cries if the character is crying, he laughs and giggles when the character is funny while explaining the scenes. He even danced with the small kids and showed them the spirit in one particular scene during the film.”
She noted: “His style of filmmaking is unique and the world knows it already with films like ‘Legend of Bhagat Singh’, ‘Andaz Apna Apna’, ‘Damini’, ‘Ghatak’, ‘Lajja’ and ‘Ajab Prem ki Gajab Kahani’. His cuts across genres and connects with the audience like no one else.”
Continuing on her association with Santoshi, Madhu said: “My association with him goes back to ‘Battle of Saragarhi’ shoot for which will resume soon when he identified my talent and we started working together. He remembers every dialogue of every character and goes to great lengths in shooting every scene with full honesty and reality.
“Working with him is like a never-ending learning journey. I salute his spirit and courage in making a film like this with no stars and believing in his craft so deeply. I am sure he has created history and inspiration for generations to come.”
Speaking about her role, she said: “I am playing Nirmala Devi, who is an ardent follower of Gandhi and mother of Sushma, a sweet girl supporting Gandhi and following in her father’s path after his death.
“Nirmala is a tough lady yet caring and protective both of Sushma and Gandhi. She has great camaraderie with fellow inmates and challenges anyone who means any harm to Gandhi. She has no qualms about even questioning Gandhi when his hard rules come in the way of doing the right thing.”
