Yaneeya Bhardwaj on playing the ghost in ‘Chhorii’: When I used to go back to my room, I got very scared – Times of India

First of all, congratulations, your film has received amazing reviews. Can you tell me how you came on board for the film?

For this film, I had a series of auditions. The first audition was a self-test which happened right after the first lockdown. So, there were three rounds. A lot of girls were shortlisted and then finally, they finalised me. We shot the film during October-November of 2020.

Recently, Akshay Kumar praised the ‘Chhorri’ team for taking up the sensitive topic. How does it feel to get compliments from him over your film?

I think it is an amazing thing. This movie deals with female foeticide. When Akshay Kumar gives you a compliment, it’s a big thing. The film deals with a sensitive topic and something which needs to be said out loud. We should not hide these things and put down these matters. We should talk about women empowerment and everything that is happening, not just in our country but all around the world.

Did you watch the original Marathi flick ‘Lapachhapi’?

Yes, I did, right after I got selected. I don’t like watching horror films. I can sense these things around. I think people are born with the capabilities to sense things. I am a spiritual kind of person and I believe in all these things. I believe that there is the other side.. the paranormal side. Some people can see these things and I am the one who can sense them. I actually had ghost encounters twice in my life; I’ve seen these things from my eyes. So, I try to avoid horror films as much as I can.

How was your experience shooting for this film?

When you are shooting with the entire crew, it is fine. You usually don’t get scared when people are around but when I used to go back to my room, I got very scared. There was this day when I got up in the middle of the night around 3-3:30 am and checked my phone. I saw an article on Facebook- ‘Top 10 celebrities and their ghost encounters’. I don’t like sharing my room with anyone and need my space. I was alone in the room and that night only I know how I slept. I wear rudraksha and believe in Lord Shiva. I have a lot of faith in him. So, I wore my rudraksha and just chanted ‘Om Namah Shivaay’ the entire night.

How was it working with Nushrratt?

Working with her was amazing. She is very sweet, grounded, and doesn’t have any air about her. It was very nice.

How does it feel to be a part of a female-centric film which is more focused on the heroine than the hero?

Ever since I started acting–and since I am a theatre actor–I have wanted to do powerful roles. I want to do roles that matter; I don’t care about the screen time because I want to do something that is important and challenging. When I came to know that this film actually is a female-centric one and working with Nushrratt and Mita ma’am is like attending acting classes
, I really wanted to become a part of this film. I felt amazing. Being a woman, when a female-centric film does good, it makes you think that things are changing slowly. Now it’s time that films on these kinds of subjects should be made. I felt so good working with a team that believes in women empowerment.

How was your experience working with director Vishal Furia?

Vishal Furia sir is an actor’s director. By that I mean that he will first understand your process, he will pay heed to it, and then he will do his work accordingly. He makes you feel very comfortable on the sets. He knows what he wants. You won’t see a bad performance in Vishal Furia sir’s film or web series. The best part about him is that you can ask him as many questions as you want, and he will never stop you. It was wonderful working with him and I want to work with directors who are actor’s directors.

Who do you want to work with in the future?

I have a huge wishlist. I want to work with Shoojit Sircar, Sriram Raghavan, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Zoya Akhtar, Nitesh Tiwari, Rahi Anil Barve, R Madhvani, Vasan Bala, Amar Kaushik, and Neeraj Panday. I was shortlisted for Neeraj Panday’s project. I want to work with all of them because they are the actor’s directors, and they can pull off performances really well. I really want to work with Manoj Bajpayee, especially after his performance in ‘Love, Sonia’. You get to learn so much from actors like Manoj Bajpayee and Pankaj Tripathi. Apart from them, I really like Hrithik Roshan. I have done a ad commercial with him; I really like him… he is good-looking.

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