Trupti Khamkar, who is presently seen in Meghna Gulzar’s latest Hindi film Daayra, which stars Kareena Kapoor Khan and Prithviraj Sukumaran in the lead roles, is known for her work across Bollywood and Marathi films. The actress is seen in the role of a police officer. While playing a cop can often demand physical preparation and an understanding of the character’s mindset, Trupti feels her preparation for the role started much before she even knew this opportunity would come her way.
Talking about her preparation for Daayra, Trupti revealed that being physically active has been a part of her life for years. She said, “The preparation for this character has actually been happening for the longest time in my life. I have been working out, running and staying active. I have always wanted to do an action film. That has been a dream since I was five or six years old. I have always wanted to be a dancer and an action actor, so in a way, the preparation has been happening since then.”
For Trupti, an actor cannot simply wait for a role to come along before starting to prepare. She believes that one needs to stay ready for opportunities.
“I believe that as an actor, you always have to be ready for an opportunity. You cannot say that there is no opportunity right now, so I will not prepare. I have always practised dancing and singing. I have also kept myself active through running, combat practice and different forms of physical training, in my own little ways. I am also a physical theatre actor, and that has helped me in many ways,” she added.
While the physical side of the character came naturally to her, Trupti felt that the emotional preparation for Jyoti was relatively simple. According to the actress, the character had clear emotions and intentions, which made it easier for her to connect with her.
“Secondly, I feel blessed that I can find the core of a character quite easily. Jyoti is a simple, straightforward character in a simple and clear story. If you are a human being and you genuinely get affected by something that is not even happening directly around you, the emotion is already there in your heart. So, there wasn’t really a lot of preparation needed in that sense,” Trupti explained.
The actress also recalled her first conversation with Meghna Gulzar after she was locked for the role. Trupti used a swimming pool metaphor to explain how she approached playing Jyoti under the filmmaker’s guidance.
“I remember when I went to meet Meghna Gulzar after I was locked as part of the cast, she asked me, ‘What do you feel like doing?’ I told her, ‘I think I know what the swimming pool is and I know how deep it is. I am in your hands. You guide me where to swim, and I will swim.’ That was my metaphor for playing Jyoti,” she said.
Trupti further shared, “It was very simple. It is actually very difficult to play simple, but I found it easy because there was no need to complicate the character. She had a very clear intention and a clear emotion. I just had to play it truthfully, which became easier because I had someone like Meghna Gulzar to guide me. She gave me clear instructions physically, mentally and emotionally, and helped me understand how to approach the character.”
With Daayra, Trupti gets another opportunity to explore a new character while bringing together the physical discipline she has developed over the years.
