You’re playing Bholi Punjaban after three years. What can you tell us about Bholi’s mindset in the sequel, and is it fun acting as the villain?
I think Bholi is a unique character, and you won’t find anyone else like her out there. I found it a lot of fun to boss around the fukras, and make life hell for them. Bholi considers herself a strong, self-made woman, and she had built up an enterprise of her own which was destroyed by these four idiots, so she’s really angry at them.
So for her, it’s a revenge story. How does that play out in the film?
I think she’s going to make life hell for the fukras. She’s definitely going to torture them, and make them feel pain. But there’s a new aspect to the story, which we haven’t revealed to anyone; you’ll find out when you watch the film.
With greater international popularity, what in Fukrey Returns will audiences overseas find popular?
I think it’s an underdog story, and that is something people can relate to. The first movie was about the main characters struggling to get into college, and the stakes are even bigger this time around. There’s a lot more drama, and a bunch of special effects and outrageous actions that the cast will have to go through.
You’ve been very outspoken about the issue of sexual harassment in Bollywood. What do you feel needs to be done to make a positive change?
This has been going on for a long time, not just in the film industry. It’s a problem prevalent across all industries, and the issue of sexual harassment has always been around. The only way to make it better is to create a culture where the victims can come forward with their accusations without fear of reprisal and the guilty are punished. We need to put an end to victim-shaming and deflecting blame; but, most importantly, the excuses need to stop. All the predators who have been exposed tried to justify themselves only after they were caught; if they weren’t, they would have gone on with their crimes.