Actress Amrita Rao says she was apprehensive about taking up the role of Meena Tai Thackeray in the biopic of late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray in Thackeray because it involved age transformation from a teenager to a 60-year-old lady. Meena Tai, wife of Bal Thackeray, never came into the spotlight.
While finding a reference point was challenging for the actress, speaking of other difficulties in playing the role, Amrita told IANS: "My character in the film has a wide graph from when Meena Tai gets married to Bala saheb as a teenager and it goes on from her 20s to her 60s."
"So, there are different phases of her life that have been projected on-screen. While heavy make-up was helping to get the look right, getting the perfect acting and body language was very important. So, initially I was apprehensive to play a character that is much older than me.
"I was worried if I will be able to justify everything with my performance, because we got a great detailed make-up. I had to put myself from being a girl, to a mother of children, to the wife of an iconic politician, and someone who remains a constant support of her husband, away from the spotlight. She did the entire thankless job so that he could dedicate himself to the service of the people," said the Vivah actress.
The film Thackeray, written by Sanjay Raut and directed by Abhijit Panse, features Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the main lead.
Having shared screen space with the the National Award-winning actor for the first time, Amrita said, "He is so prepared on set and that is commendable. I want to work more with him. He is such a secure actor."
"When I look at him, I see his growth and success in the last five years and it is way bigger than many of his contemporaries. I have huge respect for him."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)