A day before the trailer launch of Sauvik Kundu’s Boomerang, inspired by the play Puro Ray Ruby Ray , actress Rukmini Maitra took social media by storm with her bold bald look for the film, where she plays a dual role.
She not only took special training from actor Monalisa, who plays a humanoid on stage for the play, but also picked up nuances from her co-actors to make her character Nisha believable. She takes us through the process of playing a dual role, her upcoming projects, and more.
Excerpts
Tell us about Boomerang, and playing a dual role.
When this movie came my way, I was told that I had to play a double role, and the very first thing that popped up in my mind was all the fond memories I had of watching Seeta Aur Geeta as a child. I think that is my fondest memory of any heroine playing a double role in Indian cinema. This was quite a big responsibility. and I am playing a human and a humanoid. So yes, it was an extremely exciting and tempting offer, and also something that demanded me to push my limits further.
One of the biggest reasons for me to say yes to this particular project is to break the monotony of playing period characters like Binodini and Satyabati (in Byomkesh). So before I was typecast, I had to break away from it. and I don’t think there could be something more different than playing a robot like Nisha.
We grew up watching Vicky, the robot, in the American sitcom, Small Wonder. Was she your reference too?
Of course. The minute I was told that I was supposed to be playing a robot, I immediately got transported to my childhood and Vicky is my fondest memory! One of our biggest references for the look was ISRO’s humanoid robot, Vyommitra. Nisha had to look very different. She had to have that silicon, plastic, shiny skin-like finish, googly doll eyes, and a big lip.
We see you sporting a bald look. Tell us about it.
We don’t usually see heroines sporting such a look in mainstream cinema. yes, some people have literally shaved off their heads, but we mostly see female characters doing so who are subjected to a lot of hardships.
We were only six days into the film- making process when Sauvik (the director) came up to me to say that he feels sporting a bald look works with the narrative of the film. I asked him if he was going to keep it and not discard it at the last minute, and when I was convinced enough, I was there the next day, at 5 am on my makeup chair to create this look that took five hours straight — three hours of the prosthetic and two hours of makeup. and I felt like my most con- fident self. It can’t get any more naked than this on screen in mainstream cinema for a heroine.
What’s there in the pipeline?
My next film is Tekka, which will release during Durga Puja. I hope Ram Kamal Mukherjee’s Binodini too gets released this year. Besides these two, I’m listening to quite a few scripts. Draupadi is still in its writing stage, and I do have a couple of offers for Hindi web shows, though I’m waiting for a fantastic web show script to come my way.
Boomerang releases today.