How Aahana landed the role of Priyanka Gandhi

PTI

The success of Lipstick Under My Burkha (2017) gave actor Aahana Kumra the much-needed boost in her career. But at the same time, she also started receiving offers similar to the one that she played in the film. “People would call me and say that they have the perfect role for me. ‘Character bahut bold hai…’ is what they would mostly say. But I feel that as artists, you always have the liberty to decide what the kind of work you want to choose for yourself. I just did that and let them all go till I got the right character,” says Aahana. But don’t actors, at times, give in to whatever offers they have in hand to survive? “Well, they do, but I think that happens when you are looking at a particular medium. There are so many works and quite a few platforms that an actor can explore —TV, films, web, and theatre. Why just restrict oneself

to one particular thing?” shares the actor, whose patience got her in the much-talked-about film, Vijay Ratnakar Gutte’s The Accidental Prime Minister. She will play Congress scion Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, while Anupam Kher will be seen as former PM Manmohan Singh.

Interestingly, Aahana’s performance in a web series got her the role of the politician. “I had done this web series called Inside Edge and it was a small role that got over in five scenes. Hansal Mehta who is a creative producer on the The Accidental Prime Minister, saw my work in it and even tweeted how much he enjoyed my performance. So, he referred my name to casting director Vicky Sadana for the role,” shares Aahana.