‘I was very intrigued’: Vaani Kapoor on her OTT debut with ‘Mandala Murders’
Vaani Kapoor has been slowly climbing the steps of Bollywood since she made her debut in the industry in 2013. She shot to fame with Maneesh Sharma’s Shuddh Desi Romance, starring alongside the late Sushant Singh Rajput.
Fast forward over a decade and nine films later, she finally makes her debut on the small screen, portraying a fierce investigator. The Mandala Murders, featuring a mysterious storyline, will debut this week on Netflix.
ALSO READ | The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Mandala Murders, Sarzameen: OTT and theatre releases this week | July 21 – 27
In a conversation with Hindustan Times, Kapoor opened up about her upcoming series, talking about the shift from films to long-format storytelling, and explaining how it allowed her to delve deeper into her character. “In films, you have only two to three hours where you have to create the arc, establish it and layer out everything in that concise period. I was very intrigued coming into the long format, as it helps you explore as an actor. You get much more leverage to create more nuances, layers and get into the depth of everything.”
The Raid 2 actress also reflected on how women are typically portrayed in action genres. “All this while, we have seen women in the thriller genre being very strong, well put together; they are assertive and have a certain demeanour. I love that and I have seen that in films like Mardaani over the years in our industry.”
But with Mandala Murders, the actress wanted to offer something different. “I tried to make my character more real and relatable,” she said. “I wanted to show not just strength but also raw vulnerability as she is fighting her demons, while trying to be the best in what she is doing. She is a fighter from within, like how women usually are, as they have so much strength.”
About ‘Mandala Murders’
In the quiet town of Charandaspur, an ancient power lurks deep within its forest. When bodies begin to appear with strange markings etched on their skin, SP Rea Thomas and Vikram Singh of the Delhi police join forces to save the village, riddled with a dark past driven by mythology. Created by Gopi Puthran, the series stars Vaani Kapoor, Vaibhav Raj Gupta, Surveen Chawla, Shriya Pilgaonkar, and Jameel Khan.
Entertainment