It's been some time since Sonakshi Sinha portrayed the girl next door, and she's delighted to revisit this role in the film Kakuda, now available on Zee5 Global. "I believe it's been a long time since I played a girl next door," she chuckles during a Zoom interview with City Times. "So, I welcomed the respite from these intense and powerful roles."
Sinha's last appearance was in the grand Sanjay Leela Bhansali production Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, where she took on a dual role as the shrewd yet compassionate Fareedan and her mother, Rehana. However, the newlywed Sinha doesn't portray a helpless damsel in distress in this film either. She describes her character Indira as, "She's a strong woman, someone who doesn't buy into superstitions or ghosts. And, being newly married, she's determined to do whatever it takes to rescue her husband from his predicament. I think that makes sense."
In the horror-comedy film, Sinha plays twin sisters, Indira and Gomati, set in the cursed village of Rathodi, Uttar Pradesh. The village's curse dictates that each house has two doors, and the smaller one must be opened by the men at 7.15 on Tuesdays. Failure to do so results in the man developing a hunchback for 13 days before dying. This echoes the 2018 horror comedy Stree, where the spirit targets only men, known here as Kakuda.
When Indira marries Sunny (played by Saqib Saleem), he misses the deadline to open the door, leading to the expected consequences. The story unfolds with the introduction of a 'ghost hunter' (Riteish Deshmukh), who assists spirits in crossing over. Thus begins a chase to find a solution to deal with Kakuda before Sunny's 13 days are up.
Balancing two genres is challenging, especially in horror-comedy where punchlines can become exaggerated. "I think it was meticulously planned for us, and our director, Aditya Sarpotdar, has a strong grasp of this genre. We had a great time filming it because all the thrills, tools, and laughs were perfectly placed. As actors, we just had to execute it. It was really enjoyable to be part of something like this," Sinha shares.
Saleem agrees, "We had excellent material to work with. We just aimed to be true to it. In a comedy film, the situation is inherently funny. I believe the material really supported us." However, the cast did undergo preparation. "There was a lot of preparation for the film. We had to learn a different dialect and some physical aspects. But, since it's a comedy, timing is crucial. We did several readings but didn't overdo it to maintain the spontaneity of the comedy," he explains.
As for choosing the script, Saleem recalls, "For Kakuda, the script arrived in the evening, I read it that night, met Aditya the next day, talked to Sonakshi in the afternoon, and by evening, I was committed to the film. Sometimes, you just read the material and know it'll be fun to do."
For Sinha, variety in movie choices is key. Her career has seen her portray diverse roles, from a misunderstood delinquent in Akira to a doctor aspirant in Khandaani Shafakhana and a scheming courtesan in Heeramandi. "I'm just seeking good roles at this point. I've been deliberately doing that for a while now. I jump between genres, but I love playing drastically different characters from what I've done before... that's always a conscious effort, as it keeps me engaged as an actor." Thus, she returns to the role of the girl next door, this time with a ghost at her back.
