THIS IS HOW ANUSHKA PREPPED FOR ZERO

She worked with an occupational therapist and an audiologist

Actor Anushka Sharma is someone who always tries to pull all stops when it comes to portraying a character on screen, and this time too, the actor leaves no stones unturned while prepping for her new film, Zero. In the film, she plays Aafia, a scientist with cerebral palsy, and she says that the role demanded commitment and focus.

In order to get her character right, Anushka looked no further than her director, Aanand L Rai, who guided her through the whole journey. The duo worked together as she prepped for three long months before giving her first shot. “I understood the challenge that I was going to face as an actor while playing this role. That is what excited me about it,” shares Anushka.

She adds, “So I wanted to do it the right way and represent this correctly. Aanand sir and Himanshu (Sharma, the writer) had already researched a lot with doctors (about this condition) when they came to me with the film and had sketched out my character accordingly. I understood their brief and went with their vision and met with the doctors.”

Talking further about how she prepped, she says, “I worked with an occupational therapist and audiologist who helped me understand what physical limitations my character would have, and how it would impact my speech.”

Besides, the actor also had to spend long hours on the wheelchair to get into the skin of Aafia. Which was the most challenging part of playing this character? “I had to voluntarily create an involuntary movement that happens to my character because of my condition. While I had to focus on the dialogues, I also had a focus on the emotion of the scene, which was difficult. So, in the beginning, I would ask for some extra takes so that I could get it right because I wanted to make sure that I was doing it correctly.” ■

PHOTO: YOGEN SHAH In the film, Zero, actor Anushka Sharma plays Aafia, a scientist with cerebral palsy