My character challenges patriarchy

She was still in her teens when Kannada audiences first saw Apoorva Arora as the lovable girl in Teenage back in 2013. Her second film in Sandalwood — Sidhartha… give me a break — also had her as a cute, bubbly, girl next door. But in Mugulu Nage, Apoorva is all set for an image makeover of sorts, as she plays a feisty young woman who challenges patriarchy. She’s been busy shooting for ads and films in other languages during her over two-year break from the Kannada film industry.Always one to multi-task, Apoorva’s currently pursuing a BA in Psychology and plans to become a therapist, along with being an actress. Excited about Mugulu Nage, Apoorva tells us about ticking things off her bucket list, dubbing in Kannada and learning a lesson in comic timing from the film’s director, Yogaraj Bhat.
You’re back in Sandalwood after over two years. What took you so long?
Yes, and I’m all grown up now (she’s all of 21). I was waiting for the right project to come along, and the team of Mugulu Nage was just that. I met Yogaraj sir four years ago at an audition and he somehow remembered me and got in touch with me for this film. When I heard that Yogaraj sir and Ganesh were doing a film together, I just couldn’t say no to the offer.
There are three other actresses in this film. Any apprehensions about that?
None at all. In the second half, it’s just me. I get plenty of time to perform and there is a lot of variety in my performance. That’s the way the scenes and the character are written. For an actor, the process of acting gets easier when the director writes the character out well, which is the case here.
Sounds interesting. Tell us about your character…
I play Charulatha, a farmer. She looks after her family and is a very sarcastic person. She breaks many stereotypes in this film and smashes patriarchy in her own way, which is what I really like about her. I had a lot of fun essaying her, since I have never got a chance to play such a character. Because of how I look, I get offered cute, bubbly roles. But Charulatha is completely different, so I had to dig really deep to do justice to the role.

You’ve dubbed as well…
Yes, I’ve dubbed for films in all the languages that I have worked in, but this is the first time that I have dubbed for a Kannada film. Yogaraj sir wanted this because I had already lived the character once, so he thought that it would be apt for me only to dub. Also, while shooting, I had added certain qualities to my character, in the way she speaks and responds to other character, which he wanted carried over during dubbing.
How much of a challenge was this?
It was a bit of a challenge, since the Kannada my character speaks is not the regular Kannada that is spoken in the city. Charulatha is from Mangaluru, so I had to get the accent and pronunciation right. I understand Kannada pretty well now and have become quicker with my dialogues. Also, the entire team was very helpful, so much so that I didn’t need a language coach.
Shooting with Yogaraj and Ganesh must have been a lot of fun…
Yogaraj sir is extremely funny and witty, and would crack me up all the time. In fact, my comic timing got better just by being around him. Ganesh is super chilled out and there was a good bond formed between us. When two actors perform, it’s always give and take. You can’t perform well without the other actor doing so, and without them giving you the space to perform. What’s more, I got to tick something off my bucket list. I wanted to drive a tractor before I turned 21, which I got to do with this film. It was a dream come true and a lot of fun, although I nearly fell off it once (laughs).