Natashaa Fernandes, who made her debut with Ek Haseena Thi Ek Deewana Tha, is all set to be seen in the film Andaaz 2. The actress says that she is overwhelmed with the love coming her way.Talking about the audience response, she says, “It’s been absolutely heartwarming! The buzz around Andaaz 2 has been incredible, and the love pouring in from the audience and well-wishers has made this journey unforgettable. As the lead, it’s deeply fulfilling to see the effort we’ve all put in resonate so strongly. I’m beyond grateful for the excitement and support, it truly means the world.” Sharing how the role came to her, she adds, “7 years back I had the privilege to work with the Director Suneel Darshan in my debut movie Ek Haseena Thi Ek Deewana Tha opposite Upen Patel and Shiv Darshan. While I was in Delhi running my own establishment Mr Darshan had personally reached out to me when he had an initial thought about Andaaz 2. Sir was exceptionally precise stating that he sees the character ‘Priyanka’. The following week I visited sir and he gave me a narration of the same and that’s how I bagged Andaaz 2.” She says she went through a lot of inner emotional work for this part. “Acting is a process and a very personal experience. Although we did have workshops before filming, I believe that set up helped me understand and get to know my co-stars better. However, the emotional journey I went through to live the life of the character Priyanka was still achievable. This particular character had a very interesting emotional graph that involved multiple highs and lows of life. For any scene that involved negative emotions I had to channel that emotion from a place of deep hurt, from an unhealed version of myself or life experiences that had the worst of me, hence it wasn’t easy emotionally while I was living the life of Priyanka!” she says.
Talking about her look and role, she adds, “The character Priyanka is a young lady who had the responsibility of her family at a tender age. She eventually sacrificed her happiness to establish a business in order to provide for her loved ones. On her journey to success, she didn’t have time to fall in love or develop any friendships hence leading a lonely life! She carries herself with grace in every situation that life throws in her direction. She is a powerful boss lady and she still has a vulnerable side to her which is eventually taken advantage of leading to resentment.”
Ask her about the challenges of the role and she says, “There were ample challenges which I was keen on overcoming. Since I am the negative lead, I used to maintain distance from everyone and live in my bubble of emotions on days when I had a major scene. The reason I address it as a challenge is many times I used to be misunderstood by many. They’d generally feel I was too reserved as a person and someone who’d avoid social interaction. Being on set I preferred to be focused and live the life story of Priyanka, I had to be true to my purpose. In order to become her I knew I had to make some sacrifices be it making jokes with co-actors or mingling elsewhere. However, that was never the case, I strongly believe every actor has a personal method and approach and prefers their space which once expressed should be respected.” As for how she bonded with her co-stars, she adds, “I had a good equation with my co-actors, especially Akaisha. She is a kind soul and I enjoyed working with her. There was a particular moment of banter with my male co-actor and I, we’d never be on the same page. Until there came a day and it was hampering our on-screen chemistry so we decided to make peace for the sake of our purpose and called it a truce.”
