Actor Charu Shankar is currently seen in Hunkkaar: The Roar, Jio Hotstar’s social thriller that has brought together a compelling ensemble of performers, including Aneet Padda, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Arjun Mathur, Raghubir Yadav, Ram Kapoor, Zoya Hussain, and Rajesh Sharma.
At the heart of the story is 17-year- old Meenu Rawat (Aneet), whose accusation against an influential spiritual leader sets off an investigation that grows into a much larger battle involving the police, the legal system and the media. Charu plays Meenu’s mother, Vaishali, and for the former, it was precisely the extraordinary courage of a young girl with very little conventional power that drew her to the story. Excerpts:
How did you prepare to step into this world and bring your character to life?
I have been a huge fan of Nitya Mehra’s work, and when the call came in for a show created by her and Karan Kapadia, it was an instant yes! I loved the script. My character, Vaishali, speaks up for her daughter and says that being a victim of rape should have no bearing whatsoever on where one goes, what one chooses to eat or to wear. I knew that I wanted to be the one to say those words not just for the show but for the world at large to hear loud and clear.
Seeing students from my alma mater, Lady Shri Ram College, protest on the streets brings this painful reality to light. Following the tragic assault of a 17-year-old girl near the campus, the institution shifted to online classes—a familiar pattern of restricting women’s movement rather than tackling the root of the problem. This narrative, which is also the story of the show, needs to be told loudly: That we must stop penalising women and curbing their freedom in response to violence committed against them.
Every narrative in Hunkkaar carries a distinct emotional pulse. What was the most challenging scene for you to shoot, mentally or physically?
The entire Rawat family is put on trial by fire—quite literally—and the scene where the family is attacked and their home is set aflame was definitely the most challenging to shoot, in every respect, as there was an actual fire and things were breaking and falling. We were shooting in a real location, a tiny run-down house in Orchaa, and of course we had an action team who worked with us so we safely got through it. That fiery chaos was really challenging. The footage looks so gritty, scary and real because it was all of those things.
Were there any key dynamics with your co-stars or director that helped shape your performance?
So many! In particular with Aneet, who was with me in every scene. The subject matter of the show is so heavy; we really leaned on each other to get through difficult shoot days. We both love music, and that was a great bond between us. My film Animal was released while we were shooting this show, which brought both overnight success and much debate. It was really great to have guidance, support and perspective, especially from Nitya, Ashi, Karan, and Zeeshan. I also suffered a personal loss; I lost my beloved nani (maternal grandmother) towards the end of the shoot, and the direction team was very supportive during this difficult time, as we were shooting some difficult scenes in Orchha and Jhansi at that time.
From portraying historical figures like Indira Gandhi in Rocket Boys to powerful roles in Animal, Chand Mera Dil , and now Hunkkaar, you’ve repeatedly defied onscreen typecasting. How do you approach characters that could otherwise be easily reduced to stereotypes?
I’ve just never been very good with rules. Any rules, really. Tell me, “This is how it’s supposed to be done,” and some deep part of me immediately goes, “Oh really? Watch me.”
It’s the same with characters. Give me a stereotype, and I will work night and day to find the one thing that can turn the stereotype upside down. I’m always looking for the contradiction, the oddness, the bit that doesn’t fit neatly into the box. I think that’s just me. I don’t particularly like boxes. And if you put me in one, chances are I’ll start redecorating it.
Did Hunkkaar allow you to unlock any new, uncharted performance instincts?
To an extent, yes. Vaishali is very different from anything you may have seen me play before. She is completely de-glamourised in appearance, and so I equally amped her up in power.
And her power doesn’t come from big, hard-hitting cinematic dialogues. It’s quieter and stronger than that. This is a woman with very limited agency, who inhabits a deeply patriarchal world, where neither she nor her family has the privilege of class, money or influence.
And yet, when it comes to her daughter, she is immovable.
She never doubts her. Not once. Her support never wavers, even when this ordinary family finds itself in an extraordinarily unequal fight against a man who has wealth, influence and god-like status.
The conclusion of the story was deeply satisfying to me personally, as a woman. Because I truly feel that if you have shattered and misused someone’s deep faith and trust, as is the case with this God-man, then you need to be doubly punished.
Hunkkar deals with a very sensitive topic of sexual harassment, and acting in a show like this can get very demanding emotionally. How did you keep yourself strong during the show? Especially as a woman, more than anything else?
The material was hard-hitting, every single day. We were dealing with sexual assault, power, shame and the enormous burden women are made to carry. You don’t walk away from scenes like that completely untouched. Thankfully, I had Aneet, and she and I became a bit of a team. We had so many shared interests that our endless conversations became a counter-weight to the intensity of what we were shooting.
And I think those moments of ordinary conversations are so important. When you’re spending your working day inhabiting a character so painful that it physically hurts, it’s the very human things between takes— a conversation, a friendship, music and a shared love of dogs—that gently brought me back to myself.
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