Anu Choudhary On Her Upcoming Project ‘Atithi – The Unwanted Guest’
Ollywood diva Anu Choudhary seems to be on a roll! While both her recently released projects, ‘Nirvana 13’ which released on MX player and Odia web series, ‘72 Hours – Life or Death’ that released on Tarang Plus received good reviews, she is all geared up now for her upcoming film, ‘Atithi –The Unwanted Guest’.
While the shoot is on hold for the time being due to the surge in Covid cases and the ongoing lockdown, the actress is hopeful of resuming shooting once things are under control and is all excited about the film. We caught up with Anu Choudhary to know more about the film!
What is the theme of the film and tell us about the character you are portraying?
The film comes with a tagline ‘Atithi – The Unwanted Guest’ and that is good enough for audiences to take a guess. I cannot reveal the storyline but we then I can say there is a suspense element to the film. Not all guests are welcome, sometimes, we can react differently to a guest. So just wait for the movie to release and check it out yourself!
As far as my character is concerned, it is that of a housewife cum mother and there is her sister-in-law. It’s a typical modern family that one can relate with. And I have tried to give my best as far as my character is concerned. As an artist, every time I get an opportunity to play a character, I always try to understand the character properly and portray it in a different way so that even if I may have played similar roles, the character would appear different to my audience and fans. I always prepare for that.
What made you choose the film?
I liked the script when the narration came to me! It was a story that had to be shot just within a house with no such fancy locations and the story revolved around the character and the guest and so it got me excited because it was interesting and different. So, I said a yes to the script. Besides, today people are looking for meaningful and subject-oriented cinema rather than the run-of-the-mill hero-heroine romance, action and song films! And that’s another reason why I chose this script.
The title of your film – how significant it is – since we generally associate Atithi with Devo Bhava?
Like I said, the title depicts and justifies the story. You have to watch it to know more.
What preparations went into the character you are portraying in the film?
As I said, for every character, I do prepare and when I heard about this role, I was very excited. For me, every character is special and as an artist, I want to play my character in such a way that even as the audience realises it is Anu Choudhary, they relate with the character instead. Like when they watch this film, they will connect with the character, ‘Meera’.
Apart from yours, any other character that you feel will stand out in this film?
The story itself is the ultimate hero of the film! The story is everything, I can say. Apart from that, there’s a little child who is playing my daughter and she’s really good at such an age and had beautifully portrayed her character.
How was the shooting different during these trying times?
We had to face a lot of difficulties because of the pandemic. In fact, almost during the entire 2020, shootings remained cancelled. No work was there, not for me alone, but the entire fraternity. Everyone suffered but then COVID was an unknown enemy when it hit us and none of us had any idea what to do. Things are still bad and we do not know when shooting can resume. But we can just hope that good times will be back again and the entire industry including me is looking forward to resume work when it is possible.