Sonakshi Batra returns with yet another challenging character in Jagadhatri

When foraying into entertainment Sonakshi Batra never imagined that one day she will do action on television She admits being skeptical about doing TV until Vikrant Massey advised to take it up and build a foundation Broken bones cuts and scrapes the actor shares that it ldquoall feels worth itrdquo While the difficulty level required her to train extensively time is a nonexistent element in the medium that has to churn out episodes daily In conversation with midday Batra opens up about playing a role with dual personalities in Jagadhatri her prep for the role and why doing TV is hardExcerpts from the interviewHow comfortable is it doing action in the showI learned everything during workshops I think the first time it happened was for the promo By now we have done two or three action sequences It has been interesting Irsquove learned a few tips and tricks because action sequences are not just about fighting itrsquos fighting for the camera So you need to know the angles and the choreography has to be set I had to be really focused to learn that choreography quicklyWhat did your workshop entailBasically they tested my flexibility how high the kicks could go and how my body would move when we punched They wanted to know everyonersquos limitations and what they are capable of Then we choreographed for each action sequence In the audition they wanted to check if I would fit both the characters There are two personalities of Jagadhatri mdash a young girl craving for love and trying to appease her family a homemaker and the other is in the cop world where she is a courageous fierce and fearless leaderIs the show heavy on drama or action or comedyThere is a bit of comedy which provides a bit of relief I like that bit about the show The story involves a lot of drama and along with that there is action too Because Jagadhatri is an undercover cop it is a mixture of all threeA lot of daily soaps begin with a unique concept but lose the core over time How intact is the central plotWe have just started shooting But I believe it should remain till the end Yoursquore correct in saying that A lot of times shows lose the plot and changes happen Having said that I think a lot of it depends on what the audience is liking It does not really depend on the actors producers or the storytellersWhat was your reference point during the prep for the roleFor the homely character I just worked on the background of Jagadhatri tried to understand her story her relationship with every character in the house why she is so vulnerable her body language and tonality It needed to look a little different in both personalities For the action bit since I have not done any action in the past I watched Mardani 2014 and observed Priyanka Choprarsquos stylised action in movies I just observed their body languageHow much did you physically push yourself for this roleFortunately Irsquove been very regular at the gym and Irsquove always practiced yoga So that came in handy Even when the makers were checking my flexibility and kicks they were surprised But I had to learn all those things A punch or swing in the camera should look effective Learning that was more important Since there has always been a time crunch to prepare for TV I didnrsquot get to join any classes for MMA or other martial arts I relied a lot on YouTube tutorials I watched a lot of it and then tried to imitate it at home We would rehearse five minutes before the show People think TV is a cakewalk and anybody can do it But there is a lot still that goes beyond itWhat precautions are taken on set during action sequencesThe fight masters take those Harnesses are there for scenes and you have to do all your normal action scenes by yourself It does not matter if you get hurt It happens And apart from that if there are any jumps they put mattresses under us so that we get a safe landing There is medical assistance on the set tooHow many injuries have you sustained so farThe heavy guns we use in the show often are not dummy After holding it for a long time in a particular position our hands start paining Itrsquos like holding a heavy dumbbell for long Since we were shooting the whole sequence together my hands started shivering under its weight With all the running and chasing we did my legs also started hurtingDo you feel TV demands more hard workYes a lot of hard work goes on TV So my first project was a movie I was very fortunate that I got to do it because destiny played a huge role in all this During that movie I met Vikrant Massey It was also around the time I was getting a lot of offers for TV but I was very skeptical of doing it When I had a word with him he told me to take up TV as you learn a lot on the set The 1415 hours that you get when you do movies it will feel like a cakewalk You learn to memorise your lines in five minutes You become technically more sound