Rocket Boys star Charu Shankar on playing Indira Gandhi on screen: It was challenging

Charu Shankar is one of thoseactresses who has always stood out for her phenomenal performances. The multi-talented actress has proved her acting prowess in many critically acclaimed shows and movies in the past like Zoya Akhtar’s Made in Heaven, Imtiaz Ali’s Love Aaj Kaland The Empire, among others. Currently, Shankar is getting rave reviews for herperformance as India's first female prime minister, Indira Gandhi, in the second season of the much-loved show Rocket Boys.

Recently, Charu sat down with WION and talked about playing the role of Indira Gandhi, what it was like to portray the role of a politician for the first time, the hour-long makeup she hadto go undergo every time for the role among other things.

Here are the excerpts from the interview:

WION: In the second season of Rocket Boys, you played the role of Indira Gandhi. How did the role come to you?

Charu: It was challenging because not only is MrsIndira Gandhi a politician, but she's one of the most iconic politicians of modern India. And she remains a very powerful figure even so many decades after her death. You know, people still remember her. They remember what she looked like, how she spoke, even how she dressed, and how she inspired women. She was an icon, not just a politician.

It was an interesting point in her life that I got to portray in the show, and I'm really grateful for that opportunity. It was very interesting to think of her because she was so legendary that sometimes we forget that at some point she was a girl, a woman, and vulnerable. And so it was fascinating for me to play her on the screen.

WION: What prompted you to say yes to this role?

Charu: Well, how could I possibly say no to a role like this? This is the kind of role any actor dreams of, and I was just so lucky to have had this opportunity. And I will forever be grateful to the makers ofRocket Boys for not just casting me as Indira Gandhi but also giving her this beautiful journey in the show. Because they have played her journey as she evolves and becomes stronger, and so does India's nuclear program because she's the one pushing it. So their journey is kind of interlinked and so beautifully interplayed. I was just blown away by the storytelling of the Rocket Boys.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

WION: How did you prepare for the role and the historic scenes that wasrecreated in the show?

Charu: If you do a quick Google search, you will find a lot of videos and recordings of her interviews. But we do not really know what her demeanour was in her private life, that much is up to the imagination. So those were also quite fun recreating because, in the show, I get to play both. There is onepublic part that everyone knows, and there were close door talks with the trusted people, with her father, Jawaharlal Nehru, perhaps one of the most humane portions we see in the show was Nehru's death. It was a very beautifully shot sequence of the Rocket Boys.

And full credit to the cinematographer and our directors for that. Because they completely talked me through it. Before shootingevery scene, the director Abhay Pannu, Nikhil and me and everyone else used tojust sitdown and talk about what could be going on inside her at this point. And really, we plummed the depts of this moment.

WION: We have seen on your Instagram that it took three hours for the makeup; tell us more about it.

Charu: Yes, I used to be the first person on the set. And it used to take a really long time to get me ready. The makeup team was led by Shoma Goswami. She was so amazing. They made this amazing prosthetic nose, and they would attach that to my face and then attach hair, and then it gave me all the prosthetic touches that were required to create the likeness, as much as possible real-life likeness to Mrs Gandhi. They were really outstanding, they put in their best.

And, yeah, I never thought that I would look anything like Mrs Gandhi. And, the makeup and everything else was so good that even I was not able to recognise myself. And, at one point, my phone's face Idrefused to recognise me.

WION: What are your future projects? Anything you can talk about

Charu: I'm looking forward to two films that will release this year. One is a film by Pankaj Tripathi,it has Pankaj Kapoor sir, and it's about a family where three generations are living under the same roof. There are a lot of cultural conflicts,it's very poignant and funny. I'm really looking forward to it. I'm also part of Sandeep Reddy's Animal, which stars Ranbir Kapoor.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.