Vidhatri Bandi was last seen playing a rookie Malyalaee journalist in the Vidya Balan and Shefali Shah thriller `Jalsa`. She was widely praised for nailing the Malayalee accent and bringing authenticity to the role. For the upcoming John Abraham-starrer The Diplomat, she was once again approached to play a South Indian character. However, in the course of time, director Shivam Nair decided to make the character Punjabi.
`Surreal to not worry about body hair`
“I was approached for a South India part but it was different than what I did in Jalsa,” shares Vidhatri talking to mid-day and adding, “After auditions and rehearsals, the makers changed the character to Punjabi. The whole shoot happened in Punjab even though it has been shown as Pakistan in the film.”
Vidhatri was nervous to play the role as she had never before been approached to play the role of a North Indian especially because of her sharp South Indian physical features. “Shivam sir was there to guide me throughout. He told me adapt a less feminine walk and bring some base to my voice which is intimidating and firm.”
More importantly, what helped Vidhatri to bring authenticity to her character was being in Punjab and observing the local women and how they carried themselves. The team shot for 35 days across Amritsar, Patiala, and Chandigarh. Vidharti also shared some of her interesting observations about the women in the state that she happily incorporated to her character. “The women there are authentic and free. They don`t have a problem with hair on their body. I incorporated that and did not shave or wax for 2 months. It felt so surreal for two months not worrying about hair on your body,” she said, adding that she did these small things to feel `more in place` with her character.
Not a chest-thumping, jingoistic film
Vidhatri adds that `The Diplomat` is not your regular chest-thumping jingoistic patriotic drama. The trailer, too, sees John in a different light in this genre. “It`s more about bringing a girl safely back to her country. The focus has primarily been on the narrative. It is not like that outrageous, patriotic thing happening in the film. It is diplomacy at its best- conversations, planning, strategy,” says the actress.
“Even our dialogues are very simple and to the point. They are not like cinematic and cringe. I feel, once it comes out, probably that could be the reason it may stand out,” she notes.