Triptii

says that because of the difficult nature of her role, it was important that she be on the same page as her director. Thankfully, that was achieved quite easily because of their past association. “I’m glad that Anvita and I have that special bond where I understand her language pretty well and she understands me well. It’s not just me. I think she inherently knows what to say to whom and when.” Anvita skillfully guided Triptii to free her inhibitions and just live and breathe her character without saying much. “I understand her pretty well, and vice versa, because we worked on my character in Bulbbul for two months prior to the shooting, and here too we spent three months in preparation. When you spend that amount of time with someone, you start knowing that person in and out, so communication becomes that much easier.”

It takes complete immersion and blurring the line between real and fictional to make realistic portrayals light up the screen the way she did as Qala Triptii describes her character as “completely relatable,” both as a woman and as a performer. “I could relate to the pain,” she says. “I could relate to her insecurities and the challenges that she was facing. I was asked to emote through my eyes and gestures and rely less on dialogue. It was challenging at first but I managed it. We wrote down my thought process for one particular scene and when the scene would come, I would just go back to that and think about everything that we’d written down on that piece of paper. I believe that is how we cracked it.”

At one level, the film underlines the importance of mental health. It’s something that’s not taken seriously enough in our country. People are afraid of being ridiculed if they open up about issues. Triptii thinks that open and healthy discussions will definitely change the scenario for the better. Says she,“I’ve heard people say that whenever someone’s talking about their mental health issues, they’re accused of overthinking and unnecessarily putting themselves under pressure. And that’s exactly what’s there in the film when she’s talking to the doctor and the doctor says, ‘aap soch bohot rahe ho.’ (You’re thinking too much). When someone is trying to seek help, instead of understanding the person, you question them, which isn’t right.” While she’s happy with all the compliments coming her way ever since the release of Qala, the one that she cherishes the most came from Anushka Sharma, who also had a cameo in the film. “I think the film did move her a lot as she was like, ‘It’s such a beautiful film!’ She said this is something that you’ll always be proud of Triptii, when you look back at your filmography 20 years down the line, and when you think, okay, I did a film like Qala, you’ll always feel proud.”

While compliments do feed the heart, a girl needs a good bank balance for her trinkets and baubles. You can’t survive on praise alone and need to sign on to lucrative offers, something the actor has stayed away from, at least till now. Triptii claims she’s getting the kinds of films she wants to make, which she considers more important than money. “I don’t want to be just another pretty face. People are considering me for bigger films. Today I am in A position where I can say, ‘This is something that I don’t feel is right for me.’ And that is such a beautiful thing, to have the ability to choose. To have the ability to say no.”

I’m glad that Anvita and I have that special bond where I understand her language pretty well and she understands me well. And it’s not just me. I think she inherently knows what to say to whom and when

Having had both of her notable hits come from the OTT platform, she is unconcerned about declining large commercial offers. She says she isn’t insecure about such things. “What ultimately matters is my happiness and that’ll only come from doing things I enjoy doing.” She counters that, at a time when OTT has become as big as theatrical releases, it’s more practical to do both. “Everybody is doing that. There is no urgency, no desperation. Soon my films will come out in theatres. And then yeah, it will all be cool.”