‘Dhurandhar’: Saumya Tandon aka Ulfat Hasin Baloch says, ‘Aditya Dhar was always on my wish list’ - Exclusive

Actress Saumya Tandon, who is popular for her TV show ‘Bhabhiji Ghar Pe Hain’ and movie ‘Jab We Met’ recently been making headlines for her latest work in ‘Dhurandhar.’ The actress played Akshaye Khanna’s onscreen wife, aka Rehman Dakait’s beloved life-partner Ulfat Hasin. In an exclusive conversation with us, the actress shed light on working with Aditya Dhar, why she chose ‘Dhurandhar,’ the unexpected and overwhelming love and what’s next! Read on.

“Aditya Dhar was always on my wish list. I really always wanted to work with Aditya and I had heard such lovely things about him as a person from people, though I had only seen ‘URI’ as his work, but the people from the industry, the way they spoke about Aditya and of course, the fact that he, I mean, I could just see that his writing has so much strength. He wrote ‘Article 370.’ I mean, I just wanted to work with him.”

“It was quite a pleasant surprise when I got an offer from him. And I actually, when I got the narration from Ojas Gautam, I realized that the part was very small, but he told me that your part is small, but your part will have an impact. And Aditya told me that you have never done any part like that before, because everything that the world has seen of you has been in the lighter vein. My first project was ‘Jab We Met.’ It was a very playful, beautiful rom-com. I was the chirpy Roop. I went on to host ‘Dance India Dance’ for a couple of years, which was, of course, when the world saw me as an anchor in a very light and happy and jovial and, you know, like in a very energetic way. Then I did ‘Bhabiji Ghar Pe Hain’ for five and a half years, which was again a comedy, a hugely popular sitcom. And then this part in ‘Dhurandhar.’”

“It was intense. It was fierce. It was silent. And it was very different, it was, as an actor, it would give a chance for me to showcase something different, what the world had not seen of me. And I thought as an actor, this was a very good opportunity, apart from, of course, the fact that I had to work with Aditya. And the third very important reason was that I was playing a part opposite Akshaye Khanna, who was, you know, has always been somebody I have really, really loved watching. He's a treat to watch. And I just thought to myself that if I could hold my scenes opposite one of the most nuanced and one of the best actors that the country has, it is also going to be like a test that I'll give to myself, a challenge that I'll give to myself. So, I mean, these were the reasons for me to do it. And then casting director Mukesh Chhabra called me up, and he said that you just blindly do it. And I just went for it because it was just for all these reasons.”

“It is absolutely a delight to see Dhurandhar do so well. Honestly, I wasn't expecting this much adulation, appreciation, and love for my work, because I always thought that my part in the film was not very big. And I didn't really expect this much appreciation, even after a smaller screen time part, though I was told that, I mean, everybody's telling me that you have made an impact. It's not about the number of scenes or the number of minutes that you are on screen, but it's just that you made your presence felt. I've got a response from various directors, producers, my fellow industry colleagues, from common people, and on social media, where my memes are trending. They've all said that I have a very good screen presence, and I acted well. I have made an impact. People are talking about my chemistry with Akshaye. It was a silent part yet, you know, numerous memes are trending on Instagram. It's quite overwhelming, and I'm very grateful.”

“I am filming for something else, which at the moment I won't be able to disclose, but it's another film with a very, very good filmmaker, and I'm extremely happy, and I'm doing it, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it as I'm filming as we speak, and I'm really looking forward to next year. It is definitely very challenging to be in the media industry. I just feel that being in the entertainment industry is one of the toughest jobs because half the time it is not meritocratic.”