Actress Samvedna Suwalka has been in the industry for some time now. In Hindi space, she has done one TV project which is Meri Gudiya, films like Phamous, Union Leader, Rebellious Flower and Heartbreak Hotel, a web series on Sony liv App. Currently, she is playing the role of Inspector Malini in Kaun? Who did it? Here she exclusively shares how she bagged the Best Actress Jury Award for her film Silly at the 11th Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival.
Excerpts from the interview:
What was the concept of the film- “Silly”?
The film is about a girl going through a heartbreak. She knows that her relationship is over, but she still keeps obsessing about it and is unable to move on. It is as if she is stuck in time. She is almost having a nervous breakdown.
How did this whole idea come?
The director Rishav Agrawal stays in my building. We hardly knew each other before the lockdown. He came to me and said “I have this idea for a film with a single actor and can be shot in one location” and he persuaded me to do the film. We made this film with a total of 3 crew members which included the director, assistant cinematographer and I was the actor.
How did you all shoot the film?
It is a single location film, which was shot in my home, during the lockdown last year. It was extremely challenging to shoot. Since we barely had any light equipment we could only shoot during daylight. Each of us had multiple jobs to do. We had minimum equipment I did my own make-up, costume and We all 3 took turns to roll and record sound. We couldn’t ask people in the building to maintain silence while we were shooting, so it was a big challenge. Initially, we all got impatient but slowly we found the rhythm. We almost took 20 days to shoot the 33 min film. The entire film has been made with jugaad!
What was your reaction when you received the award?
I am extremely grateful for this award because any kind of recognition for your work makes you want to work harder and get better at your craft. It also pushes you to keep going. The best part is that I got it for a film which was a total experiment and for something that we just did instinctively out of a need to create something during the lockdown.
What is your upcoming project?
I have done a Gujarati film which is yet to release It will soon release after things get back to normal. I have also signed a new webshow which I should start shooting soon.
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