Amruta Khanvilkar: ‘On first day, I was told I could be kidnapped’

Amruta Khanvilkar considers it a stroke of luck that she chanced upon Hansal and Jai Mehtarsquos series Lootere while they were scouting for actors The pirate thriller not only gave her the opportunity to work with South African actors but also offered her a strong female character in the maledominated show In conversation with midday the actormdashwho is primarily seen in Marathi projectsmdashtalks about the challenges of working in South Africa during the pandemic and the long wait for the showrsquos releaseEdited excerpts from the interviewWhat was the brief given to youI was auditioning for a role at the casting directorrsquos office in Andheri when I learnt that Hansal Mehta is making a series that is being shot internationally with foreign actors I begged for the audition script When I read the script I found it powerful Later I met Jai Mehta director who is a young and enthusiastic chap Lootere is a maledominated show and he wanted Avika to be someone who wouldnrsquot spare anyone She gets married to Vikrant Vivek Gomber and hopes that he will help her escape from Somalia Avika was mentally and physically trapped that was to reflect in my body language clothes even in my eyesWhat was the first day on the set likeOn my first day of shoot in South Africa I was in a vanity van and the door was left open to combat the heat A unit hand came running to warn me to lock the door or I could risk getting kidnapped Sometimes wersquod be ready to head to the location but something would disrupt the shoot The language was difficult to comprehend plus this was amid the pandemic For almost twoandahalf months Irsquod leave my hotel go for the shoot and come right back to the hotel Irsquod go out only when the entire cast and crew didDid you manage to do sightseeingI remember going out with my DoP Jall Coswasji and trying paragliding By the end of the shoot we had all become a little homesick The unit was shooting for over seven months which is long It felt longer because we were far in between COVID waves and it was trying our patienceWas it tough to portray a character who feels suffocatedIt gets to you because you are already in a restricted atmosphere We all felt trapped during COVID Plus in South Africa if I had to go somewhere someone had to be sent with me So I took inspiration from that and my surroundings especially from my first day when I was told I could be kidnappedDoes the long wait between shoot and release bother youThe waiting period is the most testing time I shot about three to four web series two years ago I shot for a Vishal Furia crime thriller series after I returned from South Africa For this interview I had to call up Jai to give me a recap about it because it has been a while since we shot for this There is anxiety around a showrsquos final outcome As actors I feel we are paid for the patience we have not only in terms of money but also future offersHad you heard about the pirate world before doing this seriesWersquove seen this world in international shows this is the first time itrsquos being tackled in an Indian series It was a daring move to shoot such a subject and bring two cultures together Half the time they shot on a ship where itrsquod often get extremely cold so much so that one couldnrsquot even touch the metal railings The people shooting aboard had seen dolphins and whales they sustained injuries It wasnrsquot an easy shoot Irsquom glad the boys pulled it offHow was it interacting with actors from a different cultureThere is a South African officer in the series He is about six feet in height with a heavy build but he was gentle and softspoken He is the sweetest person Irsquove met Jai also enjoyed talking to South African actors Their school of acting is so different it was a learning opportunity