Exclusive Interview! Sandeepa Dhar Opens Up About Chattis Aur Maina, Working With Vikram Singh Chauhan & More
Sandeepa Dhar's latest show Chattis Aur Maina is gaining solid popularity amongst the masses. The actress is creating waves across the internet with her impactful and impressive performance as a dancer in the Disney+ Hotstar series. Recently, Sandeepa Dhar had a candid chat with Filmibeat, in which she spoke about Chattis Aur Maina, working with co-star Vikram Singh Chauhan, the overwhelming love she’s been receiving from fans and much more. Here are excerpts from the interview.
What made you take up Chattis Aur Maina?
You know the interesting bit is, the first time the show came to me, I said no to it. I had just finished Bisaat and was shooting back to back. I shot for Mum Bhai, Bisaat and my Netflix series and I told my team I want to take a break now. So, I don’t want to sign anything and if there is something, keep it away from me and they said okay. But two days later, they gave me a call saying like there is a show which is dance based and they really want you for it and I was like I really don’t want to do it but they were like no it’s with Hotstar and they are very kicked about this show.
I said okay and asked what’s the character like and the casting person said they want somebody very bubbly and they gave me a reference of Geet from Jab We Met. And whenever I hear somebody say Geet from Jab We Met, I always run away from it because that means they want this overtly bubbly character, and I was not in that state of mind to do that. But my team convinced me that there is some miscommunication and I should meet the director and hear her out. So very grudgingly I said yes as I didn’t want to do this and went to meet the director Shraddha.
She told me about the series and how she is looking at it. After I spoke to her, I was like this is something very different from what they had told me. So, I went back after having a fun chat with the director and told my team that I want to read the script. I then went through the first three episodes and I just knew I had to be a part of it because it was written so well and the character of the girl is so strong.
How did you prepare for your character Maina in Chattis Aur Maina? Can you tell us a little bit about her graph in the show?
The story is obviously driven by the girl who is the leader of a travel dance group and they go from town to town performing during wedding season. Her main aim in life is to become a top Bhojpuri actress. She has been dreaming about this for years. But when she lands up in a town called Dhooppur in UP, she meets this boy called Chattis, who is the local MLA’s son. And then off course, her love story begins but she is also very focussed and goal oriented, and wants to make a career and her life. So, the entire story is about how she is able to get to her goals and her relationships.
I felt one of the reasons for me to say yes to the series was that there is some very important messages throughout the show that we are trying to tell you. There is stuff about women empowerment, there is talk about girl education. We also handle homosexuality very sensitively. So, all these messages I felt were so beautifully communicated in a very light manner. The writers have written it really well without it being preachy.
Hence, I wanted to be associated with it and then of course there was dancing in it, and me being passionate about dancing, I really wanted to explore that on a digital platform. It gave me an opportunity to explore so many different dance forms as well.
The
series
is
being
highly
appreciated
by
the
critics
as
well
as
the
audience.
What
kind
of
response
and
reactions
have
you
been
receiving
for
your
performance?
It’s been crazy. I mean my DM is filled with people tagging me in posts because they have been loving the love story between Chattis and Maina. I think everyone who watched me and my dances have been overwhelmed by me having five songs in a series and everybody is appreciating the dances a lot.
In fact, just yesterday Satish Kaushik Ji called me up to tell me that he was pleasantly surprised that there are songs in a web series. He said that the production value of it is so high and you are looking so good, you are dancing so well. He said I am so proud of you and he really liked the show. So it was really nice to have somebody of his stature, who’s been in the industry for so long call you and tell you that they really liked your work. I have also had the pleasure of working with him in Kaagaz.
How was your experience of working with Vikram Singh Chauhan and the other cast members?
I
think
Vikram
pleasantly
surprised
me
with
his
performance
to
be
honest.
He
is
an
extremely
gifted
actor
and
very
easy
to
work
with,
very
chilled
out.
I
feel
like
in
a
love
story,
it’s
very
important
for
you
to
get
along
with
your
co-star.
We
didn’t
really
have
the
time
to
get
to
know
each
other
before
the
shoot.
But
he
was
very
easy
to
get
along
with,
thank
god,
because
otherwise
the
chemistry
that
everyone
is
talking
about
wouldn’t
have
come
out.
I
think
our
scenes
have
come
out
really
nicely.
The
rest
of
the
cast
members
have
all
done
so
well
and
its
been
like
a
picnic,
because
we
all
got
along
really
well.
We
have
this
WhatsApp
group
where
we
chat
with
each
other
every
day.
Vikram
Singh
Chauhan
On
His
Secret
Marriage
With
Sneha
Shukla:
There
Was
No
Reason
To
Reveal
Or
Not
To
RevealYou have been a part of films and web shows of varied genres. How do you select your scripts and which medium do you prefer working on and why?
As an actor, shooting for film and web series is exactly the same. For me personally, there is no difference between the mediums. In fact, the difference would be that in a web series you have longer time in order to justify your character. So as a performer, you get much more time to sink your teeth into. In the case of Chattis Aur Maina, there were 15 episodes of 12 or 13 minutes each whereas a film is only two hours long. So, I can’t choose one over the other. As an actor, wherever I get good character to play, I am going to go that way whether it’s in a film or a web series.
Lastly, Can you tell us something about your upcoming projects?
My next film that will come out is with Netflix. It’s called Mai and has already been announced and that’s being produced by Clean Slate Films, which is Anushka Sharma’s production house. I am very excited about it because, again, I play a very different character in it.