Genelia Deshmukh is back in Hindi cinema after a decade-long break and tasted success with the Marathi blockbuster, Ved. In her second innings, she is happy to note that novel stories are being written, making it a fulfilling experience for actors to slip into their roles. She plays a mother in upcoming film Trial Period. which wil be released on JioCinema on 21st July sees her as a Delhi-based single mother who gives in to her son’s demand and brings him a father, essayed by Manav Kaul, on a 30-day trial period.
To understand the nuances of her character, she explains the process of getting her character perfect, she says, ” I have never really played a Bengali woman so for me this is my first time and I always look at this as my opportunity to have in a place you learn to love or learn to grow with as part of your prep in a film. For me if you look the part is half the work of acting because you need to look right to be able to play it right and I always admired Bengali women, they are extremely beautiful and extremely strong.
Aleya Sen (Director of Trial Period) was extremely clear as to how she wanted each expression, how she wanted the body language, something there is very natural, she was particular about that, and she helped me tremendously. I spoke to a lot of single women mothers to understand the complexities of it.
In terms of dialect, I did have a couple of Bengali words in the film, but the character is based in Delhi, so she is a very urban Bengali woman, there is a lot of Hinglish, and she is brought up in a very Hinglish atmosphere. We went in for a lot of cotton clothes, Aleya and Karishma Gulati (Costume Designer) worked for many months to come up with something they felt was perfect, I did give a couple of inputs, largely I would credit it to both of them and the hair-makeup team because I feel when you put yourself down into styling you have to look the part, you cannot want to be glamorous, you have to inherently be someone who carries it out and that’s what it makes it beautiful, I think very often in this quest of looking glamorous we forget that your characters, I think no way can I say that didn’t come across. It’s a very new take on how she(the director) wanted the girl to look.
Aleya Sen ( director) helped Genelia on her prep and get the character right, she says, ” While writing a story, I don’t keep a particular actor in mind. However, as a filmmaker I enjoy the process of transforming an actor into the character perceived by me. Casting is a very sensitive aspect of the filmmaking process. It gives a form to your imagination of a character. I was very lucky, as Genelia was always my first choice for this role. In the film, she plays an urban Bengali single mother based out of Delhi.
I like defining every little nuance of a character, be it their costume, make-up, accent or body language. It’s very satisfying working with a seasoned actor like Genelia, who has an evolved understanding of the requirements of a character. She can change her complete look and persona in order to blend into a role.
Being a Bengali who was born and brought up in Delhi, I could explain the characteristics in minute detail. I think we complimented each other and enjoyed giving a form to ‘Ana’ together, as Genelia was open to everything, be it the look test or the reading sessions. On the sets she seamlessly got into the skin of the character. Genelia has an inherent natural charm to her. The fact that she is also a mother in real life, only added to her warmth; both on and off-screen.”
