Actress and theatre artist Madhu Kandhari, who is best known for Amazon Prime's Hush Hush, Mrs Scooter, Netflix's Delhi Crime 2, Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas, Aamir Khan's PK, Madras Cafe, Collar Bomb, Dear Maya, among others, is currently seen as Nirmala Devi in Gandhi Godse: Ek Yudh, helmed by director Rajkumar Santoshi.
Speaking on her role she says, "I am playing Nirmala Devi, who is an ardent follower of Gandhi and mother of Sushma, a sweet girl supporting Gandhi and following her father’s path after his death. Nirmala is a very tough lady yet caring and protective both for Sushma and Gandhi. She has great camaraderie with fellow inmates and challenges anyone who means any harm to Gandhi. She has no qualms about even questioning Gandhi when his hard rules come in the way of doing the right thing. She even breaks into a fight with Godse when she comes to know that he tried to kill Gandhi. Director Raj Kumar Santoshi and writer Asgar Wajahat have given a comic shade to this character despite her being very honest and innocent. So I bring in a nice flavour as a Haryanvi woman who is very direct and says things innocently."
Sharing about director Rajkumar Santoshi helped her in preparing for her character of Nirmala Devi she states, "Raj is an exceptional storyteller and explained the role to me in his own unique way. He has a knack for getting the best out of his actors, which sets the mood of the entire cast and crew. I learned the accent and dialect of a Haryanvi and included my bit in the dialogues with the help of a friend from Haryana which he really appreciated."
She further continues, "The biggest challenge was playing a role completely opposite to my natural personality and age. Raj was very humbled and impressed by my work and dedication during the making of his other film Battle of Saragarhi, and was very confident that I will do justice to the role. I also discussed the character which was originally written by the playwright Asgar Wajahat and once my screen test was done, I was already shooting for the scene the same day."
Sharing about the kind of responses she is receiving for her role she tell, "The audience could not believe it was me who played Nirmala Devi. I think that’s the real test of your caliber and dedication that you could pull off what the director imagined, and it’s the character that people see and not you. There is still a lot to learn, and I am looking forward to tougher challenges ahead."