EXCLUSIVE: Preeti Panigrahi and Kesav Binoy Kiron talk about Ali Fazal’s epic ‘You’re being replaced’ prank and Hrithik Roshan’s unforgettable reaction after watching Girls Will Be Girls: “He said, ‘I have a lump in my throat; give me a hug’” : Bollywood News
Preeti Panigrahi and Kesav Binoy Kiron debuted with Girls Will Be Girls and have received immense praise. Their performances are nuanced and it’s difficult to imagine that they are first-timers. The film is all set to premiere on Amazon Prime Video on December 18 and on this occasion, Bollywood Hungama spoke exclusively with them about the film, its international honour, working with producers Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal and a lot more.
EXCLUSIVE: Preeti Panigrahi and Kesav Binoy Kiron talk about Ali Fazal’s epic ‘You’re being replaced’ prank and Hrithik Roshan’s unforgettable reaction after watching Girls Will Be Girls: “He said, ‘I have a lump in my throat; give me a hug’”
How does it feel that the film will be out finally and that it’ll be the end of your promotional journey?
Preeti: That’s very rightly said. In theatre, when you are performing the grand finale, you know that you have to give it your best. But you are also a bit sad as you also know that it’s going to end. That’s how I am feeling right now. It’s been a journey of two years for both of us. We have found a lovely team that understands us. Hence, I am emotional. As for how the film is received, I am keeping myself away from it. We had not anticipated so much love when we started. Hence, it’s always preferable to give your best and get surprised by the feedback.
I am sure you have a fair idea about the feedback since you have travelled with the film to prestigious film festivals across the world…
Kesav: When we started out, our casting director told us, ‘Don’t expect anything from this film. In fact, this film might not even come out’! After all, this is what happens with indie films, right? That remark helped me as I understood that nothing is in control and I should not expect anything. And the way this film has given us so much love is incredible. Sometimes, I feel that this is still a dream! We started in January with Sundance followed by festivals in El Gouna, Egypt and Tokyo, Japan. Though it is a simple story of a girl in Dehradun, the way it has connected with the audience, who does not even understand the language, is beautiful.
It’s an Indian story of how girls face discrimination. It may not be the same in other countries and yet, everyone has connected with the theme…
Kesav: Yes, and most of the awards we have won are audience awards!
How many film festivals has your film been to? Have you lost count?
Preeti: We have lost count but I guess our film has been to more than 20 festivals! We started our journey with film festivals and we owe a lot to them. However, such films are seen as too intellectual. However, the way the audience has reacted to it, it’s not a typical ‘film festival audience’ reaction. They usually tend to be quiet but we saw viewers yelling and gasping.
I wish it had released in cinemas here. I, especially, wanted to see how the audience reacted when Anila (who plays Preeti Panigrahi’s mother) puts the towel on the phone’s receiver and calls Kesav’s character…
Preeti: (Laughs) Oh yes. Also, the context changes culturally. Anila feeds the cake first to Srinivas. For the American audience, it had a sexual connotation. But for the Indian and African public, it was a common behaviour. Also, feeding by her hand is not a problem for us! On the other hand, the Indian audience laughed when Srinavas was told that he’s got 8 out of 20 marks. The same reaction wasn’t present in other places.
Did you always plan to become an actor?
Preeti: Yes. This film happened at the right time. I had just gotten done with my college. I used to actively do theatre but because of the pandemic, we had to halt. I had however done digital performances. One of my friends noticed one of my works and she informed me about the audition call. They reached out to me, asked me how I was as a student, any funny instance I could narrate etc. I was then given two scenes to perform. This is when casting director Dilip Shankar sir told us about the film. I Googled about it and was amazed that Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal are producing it. Usually, first-time actors are not asked whether or not they want to do the film. It is assumed that yeh actor to desperate hogi kaam karne ke liye. But we were asked for our consent. Interestingly, I came on board a year after they started looking for Mira. Kesav was on board very early.
Kesav: They locked Preeti and we were like ‘Chalo ab finally film bana sakte hai’!
Were Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal present on the sets? Were they strict producers?
Kesav: They were present on the sets. We were fanboys of them and there was a lot of intimidation as well! However, they made sure that they wouldn’t interact with us about how the shooting was going on until the filming was over because they realized that we would be impacted by it as we were first-timers. They even ensured that they were not in visible proximity when we were shooting a scene, that is, they saw the shoot from afar where we couldn’t see them. At the same time, they kept the environment light and played pranks.
Who played pranks?
Kesav: Ali sir played a prank on me. One day, he told me, ‘Kesav, it’s not working. You are horrible. We’ll have to change you. So, pack your bags’! I was unable to process it. Richa then shouted at him, ‘Can you stop pranking him? It’ll impact his performance’!
Preeti: (Laughs) He bought into it as well. He’s so cute.
I noticed that in the film, in many places, silence played a big part. Director Shuchi Talati chose not to add too many dialogues and let the expressions speak for themselves…
Preeti: The film is very true to the script. But in some places, emotionally we didn’t feel like saying those lines. Shuchi ma’am was open to it. And yes, she was particular about non-verbal exchanges.
Kesav: For my last scene, we did 15 takes. In some of the takes, I was asked to verbalize. I said bye to Anila once. Then for the next take, I was told to enact the scene again without saying anything. When we saw the film is when we realized which take she kept in the final cut.
The way you looked angry in the stayover scene was superb, especially your expressions…
Preeti: (Smiles) When I saw the film, I could see my face gradually changing and showing stress. The film also progresses stressfully. So in the goodbye scene, I could feel the change compared to how my face seemed in the first scene.
Was there an intimacy coordinator present on the sets? And how was the experience of doing the lovemaking scenes for both of you?
Preeti: It was Shuchi who acted as the intimacy coordinator. She made a film before which had intimacy and hence, she had an experience. At times, actors are not able to communicate with the director as they are scared of them. Shuchi was an exception. If there was any problem, we were vocal about it.
Kesav: She used intimacy to take the story forward, which was beautiful. The night before shooting the intimate scene, we all three would meet, discuss the scenes and how we should go about shooting it. Shuchi ma’am didn’t allow us to see the monitor but she made an exception for the intimate scenes. So, we knew what and how the scenes were being shot.
In the scene where you apply the oil to Kani Kusruti’s hair, some of it falls on her face. Was it intentional or did it happen by accident?
Preeti: (Laughs) No, it was a part of the script. But the final emotion was an improvisation. We were allowed to feel a lot on the set.
Did you get any feedback from the members of the film industry?
Kesav: I just remember Hrithik Roshan’s reaction the most. He saw the film at the MAMI Film Festival. I feel that when you see a good film, you won’t be able to express your feelings immediately. You’ll take time to process it. That’s exactly what he did. He said, ‘I just have a lump in my throat’. He told me, ‘Come, give me a hug’. We hugged and after some time, we hugged again. I could see in his eyes how he was moved by the film. He didn’t know Shuchi ma’am was the director. He asked, ‘Where’s the director? Where’s the director?’. He was so enthusiastic about the whole thing.
Preeti: Mira Nair, Shabana Azmi and many others also praised us. All of them are our idols. We never thought we’d be able to approach them. Thanks to his film, we were able to reach out to them.
What next?
Kesav: I shot for Saanvi two months back. It’s an American production and I got it thanks to Girls Will Be Girls. It’s different from this film and based on a real-life incident. I am also auditioning in Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu cinema.
Preeti: I am proud of him as he has worked on his craft. He has done a couple of workshops. For me, I am waiting and taking my time. It clearly depends on the script.
Kesav: She has directed a beautiful film.
Preeti: Yes, I am learning to make films on the side. I like to keep myself busy (smiles).
More Pages: Girls Will Be Girls Box Office Collection , Girls Will Be Girls Movie Review
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