Khushalii Kumar: I got into Tara’s character and became her; it was scary

For Khushalii Kumar, Starfish was like a passion project for which she gave her all- physically, mentally and emotionally. The preparation and shooting was so intense that it left her exhausted. Now while talking to us, the actor shares how at one point, she started questioning her decision of doing this film.

“It was so freezing cold that everyone was wearing jackets while I was in a dress, ready to jump in the water. It was very difficult and challenging. There was a point while shooting underwater scenes, when I came out of the water and said ‘What kind of script did I chose’ (laughs). After it was over, I was relieved ki khatam hogya ye,” shares the actor, but quickly adds that working on this project also made her the happiest. “In the very next moment, I felt happy because after every shot, everyone on the set would clap and applaud me and that was another level of encouragement. In fact I now miss those shooting days no matter how difficult they were.”

Kumar also talks about how she got into Tara’s (her name in the film) character so much that it got difficult to come out of it. “I became her (Tara) and it was kind of scary. But I believe many actors face this issue,” she says and goes on to explain, “When you perform a certain character, you do get trapped into that zone. But it’s about how strong you are to train your mind, detach yourself and come out of it. And it does take time and that’s okay. That’s the journey of an actor.”

Kumar is just thankful that the team shot the film’s most intense scenes at last. “Because after that, I would get so scared and wake up in the middle of the night. I would start crying and panicking without realizing what’s happening to me. It was so much into that zone that it affected me to the core,” she shares.

To come out of her character, Kumar took a break after the shoot. “I travelled to another city, read different things, tried to engage myself in varied activities to just distract myself. I couldn’t leave myself in that situation for a very long time. It was a process that I went through and I have come out of it now,” Kumar tells us.

Though she has raised the bar not just for others but herself too with this character, would she mind playing a not-so-challenging role in a rom-com? “Every role is challenging in its own way. It’s not easy to be someone else and be true to it and make it look real. Now I have a new film in which I play a news anchor and I am pretty excited to do it. And throughout, my attempt was to add some spark to the character that makes it standout and look different from others,” she shares, adding, there are several other projects in which she is excited to show her versatility as an actor. “There is Ghudchadi, which has Sanjay Dutt and and Raveena Tandon. Another is Dedh Bigha Zameen with Pratiek Gandhi. Besides this, there are a couple of films, which will will go on floor in Feb-March next year,” she ends.