The film Darlings has just been released and is receiving praise for being vocal about domestic violence with a slice of dark humour. The film features Alia Bhatt, Vijay Verma and Shefali Shah in primary roles with power-packed performances alongside many actors in secondary roles that bring the narrative to life.
Amongst them, is actor Vikram Pratap who makes his acting debut with Darlings. He gets candid about his role, working experience and learnings from the film. "I'm playing a character named Abdul. He is a friend to Hamza (played by Vijay Verma) and they hang out together. He is jealous of Hamza getting a job, so he opens his own chemist shop. Badru(Alia Bhatt) thinks her husband is unstable because of his dependence on alcohol, so she goes to this chemist shop to ask for medications to cure his addiction. He gives her the medicine, but then the character goes and spills this news to her husband," the actor shares.
When asked how h bagged the role, he says, "During the second wave of covid, my parents were unwell so I had to move back to my homeplace. Before going I gave my audition in Mumbai and forgot about it. Later on, after five months, I got a call that I had been selected for the role."
Talking about sharing the screen with Alia in the movie, he says, "My first scene was with Alia and it was lovely working with her. She is such a big star but does not carry that stardom with her. She is humble and down to earth as a person. It was very comfortable working with her. Also, it was great working with Vijay Verma as he is a fabulous actor. It was a delightful experience to watch Shefali Shah ma'am performing. So indeed it is a memory I will cherish for my whole life. I got to learn a lot about filmmaking and acting."
The elated actor adds, "I never thought of debuting through such a big production. This came to me as a blessing in disguise of the covid situation and I'm grateful for it. It was all destined and now after it has been released, I feel blessed."
He also tells us more about the positive responses he is getting after the film’s release, "I come from a very small town Bhind (Chambal), so coming from there and starring in a big film is a huge thing for people back in my hometown. I have been receiving overwhelming responses. People from Bhind are very happy to see my work."
Darlings is streaming on Netflix now