Deepika Padukone says Ranveer Singh felt Gehraiyaan is her most intense film since Tamasha: ‘Extremely challenging’

Deepika Padukone opens up on Ranveer Singh's reaction after watching Gehraiyaan, how she deals with intense roles and her take away from Shakun Batra directorial.

A look at Gehraiyaan’s trailer and you know that you are in for an intense experience that will take you to the deep end of the different dynamics of relationships. The Shakun Batra directorial, starring Deepika Padukone, Siddhanth Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday and Dhairya Karwa, is set to release on Amazon Prime Video. Ahead of the release, indianexpress.com had a brief chat with Deepika Padukone during which we spoke about how Gehraiyaan looks like the most intense film she has done since the 2015 release Tamasha, which starred her opposite Ranbir Kapoor.

“Ranveer (Singh) was saying this to me yesterday right after he watched the film,” Deepika smiled. She added that her character of Alisha Khanna has shades of Shoojit Sircar’s Piku and Tara from Tamasha because of the way they have been written.

She continued, “At the same time, certain decisions and choices that the character makes are slightly, I would say, unconventional or choices that we are not familiar with. It is because either we don’t know such people in real life or we have not seen such characters in films before. For me, the most interesting part of performing Alisha was to humanise this character. The challenge was in how to perform it in a way that irrespective of you (as in the audience) agree or disagree with it, you empathise with her. So, it was exciting.”

After playing a character this intense, what is her process to detach and move ahead after a film? “Every character that you play, you put a little of yourself (in it). At least, I do. I think that is what differentiates one actor’s performance from another. And every character you play, you take home a part of it with you. You grow from it. You evolve. Even in your personal life, it affects you somewhere. At the same time, I don’t I have ever come back home thinking that ‘oh my god, next two years I will have sleepless nights because I am playing this intense character.’ No. That’s my job, my profession. Yes, a lot of my process is internal – I think a lot, live with those emotions a lot, but I think I have learned to differentiate and compartmentalise and leave that behind on the sets,” Deepika replied.

She explained that household chores and little things in life keep her grounded. “I come back home and do something like ordering vegetables or laundry. I do something that is completely unrelated to what I have done through out the day. That is me. That is also what I enjoy doing. So, I think I am able to differentiate (work and life) and also disconnect. I leave those emotions behind and come home. Carrying the baggage of those emotions can lead to exhaustion, I can do that but it is a choice…and I have chosen not to. I choose to do something completely unrelated and something that keeps me grounded. And then I go back to work the next day and approach the character with fresh energy,” Deepika said.

In several interviews, Deepika had spoken about how Gehraiyaan is yet another perspective on the complexities of relationships. When asked if the film has changed her take on relationships too, the actor said it made her more empathetic and accepting of people and their struggles.

“I think that I was already on the path of being less judgemental, have more empathy, more accepting, and this film has only enhanced that feeling and emotion in me, which is to say that everyone has a story that is deeper than what meets the eye. Everyone’s life is complex. Everyone is dealing with their own set of struggles. A lot of people make a certain choice because of the circumstances they are in. And I believe the moment you understand where their mindset is at, you automatically empathise and become human,”

Deepika also spoke on her takeaways from the film, while explaining that they tied in with what she has been experiencing as a person. “My take on relationships with people, in general, has changed or the way I look at people has changed. Of course, a large part of it happened when I fought depression, struggled with mental health back in 2014… when I realised that half the people pretend to be happy when they are not. So, the learning has not just been about a certain relationship. But people in general. How can we start looking at people with a little more understanding and empathy is what’s my take away from this film,” Deepika concluded.