Actor Mouni Roy admitted that she’s flattered by all the positive reactions her performance in Brahmastra is drawing, but she wouldn’t presume to suggest that she has in any way overshadowed the film’s leads, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt. Directed by Ayan Mukerji, Brahmastra is an epic fantasy film inspired by Indian mythology. In the film, Mouni plays the primary antagonist, Junoon.
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She said in an interview with Siddharth Kannan that she landed the part in 2018, after a meeting with Ayan that was supposed to be for just 10 minutes, but went on for over three hours. At that point, she said, her character was called Obsession, and was supposed to be a smaller presence in the film.
Asked what she feels about being called the ‘main lead’ of the film, and carrying it on her shoulders, Mouni said, “I feel like people are really loving towards me, I feel like my hard work of many years is paying off. I believe that there’s no short cut to hard work… When you see the fruits of your labour, it feels amazing. But this is everybody’s film. Every single character is very important to make it what it is today, so you cannot negate anybody’s contribution to the film.”
Asked what she has to say about her role being more important than Alia Bhatt’s, she said, “Why are you asking me such controversial questions? My role was mine. My responsibility was to play the antagonist, and that’s what I focussed on, an that’s what I did. It feels great when the audience receives your work positively… Because Junoon had a quiet confidence and power, the audience received it in a way that even I didn’t anticipate.”
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The film has been criticised for its writing, and the underwritten character that Alia was saddled with. Ayan has said in interviews that he is taking in all the feedback, and will implement some corrections in the sequels.
Brahmastra has made over Rs 425 crore globally, according to Dharma Productions. Budgeted at Rs 410 crore, the film is intended to be the first instalment of a trilogy and is supposed to kick start an interconnected universe of films and possible streaming series. In recent weeks, both Ranbir and producer Karan Johar have said that the budget being floated online isn’t for one film, but the entire trilogy.
