As Indian television actress Mouni Roy gears up for her Bollywood debut with sporting drama Gold, releasing in the UAE on August 15, we caught up with her about her new chapter in her life and her thriving career in television.
For those in the dark, Mouni is best known for playing a shape-shifting serpent in the hit supernatural TV show series Naagin. The Bengali native doesn’t hold back when it comes to owing her success to the small screen. Here’s her take on…
Her character in Gold: “I play a housewife. She’s a fierce woman who knows her mind. But her husband [Tapan Das played by Akshay Kumar] is a mess and he’s all over the place. He falls down the drain, doesn’t come home at night sometimes and gets caught in cheating activities. The husband manages the hockey team and I manage the husband. He’s flawed, but she loves him and her home.”
Whether her role would resonate with today’s modern woman as her debut role as Monobina Das seems like a pushover: “She’s absolutely relatable. She has no tolerance either, but she’s human. We tried to keep my character as real as possible. While it’s a story of a man being told, you will related to his wife, too. Plus, remember Gold is set at a time between 1936 and 1948.”
Naagin’s success and her career in television: “I can’t thank TV enough because I owe my life to television. I have done it for nine years and therefore I am equipped and ready for any challenge. TV prepares you for that. We don’t give TV enough credit. Imagine playing the same character for a year for over 18 hours in a day for several years with the same conviction. It teaches you a lot.”
Acting with Akshay Kumar: “He is not just a brilliant co-actor, but he is a beautiful human being. He treats everyone with so much respect — his director or a spotboy. He creates a fun environment at work, but when his shot was ready you saw him transform into his character.”
Sexual misconduct at the workplace: “We all need to speak up. Our gut feeling or our instinct as a woman about being touched or looked at improperly should be trusted… And, when men act like animals, there should be death penalty… Speak up, report the issue and educate the men, women and children in your family about exercising your own rights. More people should talk about it, so that nobody harbours fear.”
Don’t miss it!
Gold is out in the UAE cinemas on August 15.
