'Soni' actress Geetika to WION on what's keeping her busy during lockdown

Anyone who binge-watches Netflix in India and scouts for original Indian content would know about ‘Soni’, a darling of film festivals that has only good things said about it from critics all over the world. The leading lady in the film, Geetika Vidya Ohlyan not only helped bring the ‘other’ side of a policewoman to light but also made a lasting impact in the minds of the audience with that subtle yet powerful character portrayal.

Picking her Critics Choice Film Awards in the category of Best Actress (Hindi) recently for ‘Soni’, Geetika opened up to WION about how she is keeping herself busy during the lockdown and why she can’t ever be apolitical.

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“This halt was much called for.Not only me but hopefully the human race is taking its time to introspect and take a look at what direction we are heading towards,” said Geetika reflecting on coronavirus pandemic that has brought our lives to a standstill as countries all over the world practice quarantine, isolation and lockdowns.

As for what keeps the actress busy, Geetika said, “Whenever an actor is not shooting or rehearsing for stage perfromance, we tend to not need to know what day or time it is. This is no 9 to 5, Monday to Friday kind of a job. Apart from the realisation that the entire globe is running at a slow pace, it’s becoming clearer to me as for which part of the society that we need to take care for. I am reading news now more than ever before. Rght now news is helping us look at all the problematic areas -- failures of our system, the most vulnerable parts of the world.”

Apart from reading and learning of current affairs, Geetika has also absolved herself into practicing yoga. “I want to gift myself something that would help me stay balanced and focused no matter what resources I have access to. In a way I am benefitting from this lockdown as I am getting more time to practice. I have come home to my grandparents, they are above 80 years of age. This (yoga) makes me self reliant. I do not need any equipment,” explained Geetika.

She is also excessively reading the book ‘Yoga Hygiene’, something she wants everyone to get their hands on and try.

Like many of her colleagues from the film industry, Geetika has also taken well to household chores amid lockdown. As her family has divided work between available hands, Geetika is solely responsible for mopping the house. “I am finding solace in mopping my house. I decided that we have to have the woman who comes to clean to stay at her home. We need to ensure her safety, our safety and that we need to pay her. As we let her go, I decided with my physical fitness that I will take the responsibility of mopping the floor,” she added.

Geetika hails from Haryana and is only a couple of films old. If you see her filmography so far, two of her most important works out of three has her portray a woman from the state of Haryana. While her character’s grasp of the language can be attributed to familiarity, Geetika wants to break preconceived notions of how girls are raised in conservative Haryanvi homes. She also threw light on how she approaches her characters on the screen. “Soni and Sunita, both the women have lived a life that has been lived by women who were around me. I have not had a great degree of visual exposure in my life in terms of cinema, but I grew up reading, listening, singing. I think the ability to grasp a lot from my surrounding is somehing that came by default. My grandfather called the TV the idiot box. At an age when people are absorbing things seen in cinema, I was absorbing things around me,” said Geetika.

“I could play those characters because of the women I have seen -- with multiple dilemmas, catcalls,and other things. The character of Sunita comes from the maids I have had. My maid’s name in Bombay is Sunita. I promised her when ‘Thappad’ releases, both of us will go watch the film together because I feel she’s never been to a multiplex cinema. In fact I told her that I have kept the name of my character after her, not that it was my choice but those are just little joys of life,” she added.

A young talent in the industry, Geetika is nonchalant about her opinions. Not mincing words on current affairs and the political climate of the country, she said, “I base my decisions on hope and optimism rather than on fear. I have faith in my abilities, in my multi lingual skill, and my ability to portray multiple characters. Thats why I chose to do a character that sounds like the other however, they were so different from each other. Soni was intrinsically a person who was trapped inside of herself, her soul was entrapped; Sunita was really happy as a person. In a nuanced way, those were different for me.”

'Thappad' actress Geetika Vidya: I am glad to have the wisdom to be content in my thought

“We are living in times when its easier to find the enemy outside so that we can stop paying attention to inner conflicts. It’s easy to find people who dislike anyone who diasgeress with them. The sad part is that a lot of our living is polarised. Its either this extreme or that extreme. Whatever you say is anti-this or anti-that. Can we discuss rather than jumping to conclusions? If there is a policy that’s good for my nation, I will be like ‘Hey this policy is nice’. But being appreciative of that policy does not make me a torch bearer or representative of the person who applies that policy. I’m just an artist who wants more and more peace in my country. I’m learning how to deal with all this, bring in inner calm and justice,” opined Geetika on being vocal about her political stand in public.

As for her future projects, Geetika Vidya is in the midst of shooting a feature film which will be continued after the pandemic. She has wrapped up her shoot for the anthology of three stories that will be made into a film. She also has ‘Barah By Barah’ by Gaurav Madaan that will be in festivals’ circuit this year.