Opening Doorz
“Celebrating Life”
“I’ve been very fortunate to have been cast in diverse characters and I owe it largely to the imagination of the phenomenal casting directors we have in Mumbai now. They have tapped the versatility of my face and personality.”
By Our Correspondent | Opening Doorz Editorial | May 16, 2018
On screen, Ekavali Khanna draws you into the character she evolves into. There’s nothing of the previous role she has essayed that filters into the new, and in that respect, she has been fortunate not to have been repeated in roles that become redundant.
“I’ve been very fortunate to have been cast in diverse characters and I owe it largely to the imagination of the phenomenal casting directors we have in Mumbai now. They have tapped the versatility of my face and personality,” says the actress who readies to essay yet another ‘out of the box’ role in Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain, which releases this Friday.
“I’ve played all kinds of roles: a rustic widow in Zed Plus, a hooker in Kaun Kitne Paani Mein, a modern Indian woman who accepts her husband’s homosexuality with grace in Dear Dad, to a conservative Pakistani woman who remains trapped in her regressive belief system in the Norwegian film What Will People Say,” reveals Ekavali, adding, “In all these roles it was casting directors who first imagined me and auditioned me which is how I landed all these interesting roles.”
Apart from playing the lead in Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain opposite Sanjay Mishra, Ekavali also has Bioscopewala (May 25) and Veere di Wedding (June 1), both cameos, not to forget The Field, a Hollywood production directed by Rohit Karan Batra which releases this year.
Ekavali Khanna lists the varied roles she has essayed so far.
Kaun Kitne Paani Mein: A satire on water scarcity directed by Nila Madhab Panda, in the film I play a hooker who has to sleep with people for water due to the acute water crisis. The film had an ensemble cast of Saurabh Shukla, Kunal Kapoor, Radhika Apte, Gulshan Grover, Robin Das and myself.
Zed Plus: Directed by Chandraprakash I play Sayeeda the love interest of the protagonist. The multicast ensemble cast included Adil Hussain, Mukesh Tiwari, K K Raina, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Mona Singh and myself.
Dear Dad: Directed by Tanuj Brahmar and produced by Sikhya Entertainment, this was my last release. The film is about a gay father who eventually comes out of the closet and reveals the truth to his son. In the film, I play the mother’s character opposite Arvind Swamy.
Bioscopewallah: Deb Medhekar’s directorial is the only Indian film in competition under the Asian Future section at the 30th Tokyo International Film Festival this year. The film is a modern retelling of Tagore’s classic Kabuliwalah. This film has the phenomenal Danny Dengzongpa playing the title role. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have worked with him and the exceptionally talented cast which includes Adil Hussain, Tisca Chopra, Geetanjali Thapa and Brijendra Kala.
What Will People Say: This is a Norwegian Urdu film directed by Iram Haq who’s first film I am Yours was the official entry to the Oscars from Norway. In the film, I play Najma, a conservative Pakistani woman who remains trapped in her regressive belief system despite spending most of her life in Norway.
Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain: Sanjay Mishra and I play a mismatched, yet compatible couple who are so bogged down by the challenges and duties of their daily existence that expressing love and affection has taken a back seat. The film focuses on how beautiful it can be to rekindle and revive a relationship that one had taken for granted.
Also Read: Ekavali Khanna… Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain… Class Apart
