Radhika Apte wants to do an action film after Mrs Undercover: 'The last few years, I have become stronger' | Exclusive

Radhika Apte will be soon seen in an action-comedy-cum spy thriller Mrs Undercover. The genre-bending film sees the actress play a regular housewife who is brought back to her spy life after years and must now navigate past her clumsiness to complete her mission. In an exclusive chat with DNA about the film, Radhika spoke about doing action, comedy, and the impact of OTT on roles for actors.

Mrs Undercover is a film that cannot be put in just one genre, says Radhika. “Any film is always a mix of genres. If you look at Bollywood films from earlier, there is always an element of drama, some comedy, action. I think a film is actually quite a few things. But having said that, in a spy thriller we don’t normally see comedy so that was quite refreshing about this film,” she says.

Her character in the film, Durga, is not the archetypal spy. She is nervous, unsure, and clumsy. Radhika says all this makes her endearing, which is important for any protagonist. “When she was trying to be all smooth but failing, that was most fun for me,” she says about playing Durga, “I like to play clumsy. I find it quite endearing. Then there are action sequences where she is another person and then bck at home, she is helping her kid with homework, there are lots of different facets. But I think that’s true for most of the women who are wives and mothers and working women. I think we all have different personalities but women just have a wider range because they have to play so many roles.”

While Durga may be clumsy, she does kick some butt in the film, which allowed Radhika to do some action sequences, something she has hardly done in her career so far. She says with a smile, “I really enjoy action. The last few years, I have become stronger in general, more after I did Mrs Undercover. I wish now I get an action film, I would probably be even better. I was a very lazy person before that and I hated exercise. But the last 3-4 years have been quite good. I shot this film just before that. But, I do love action. I was always a dancer and did some martial arts. I wish we had time to rehearse here because we did everything on the spot. So, it was quite tricky and a bit clumsy but went well with the character. I would love to do an action film now where I have to do proper action sequences and rehearse.”

Mrs Undercover, like Radhika’s previous release Monica O My Darling, is releasing on a streaming service. The actress credits the medium for making things better for actors and storytelling as a whole. “OTT has given equal opportunity to content. Here, everything is available to you. You don’t have to pay for something twice to watch it unlike in a theatre where you have to buy a ticket every time you want to watch it. Also, here if you don’t like it, you switch to something else. I think that gives content equal opportunity and hence, content matters,” she argues.

Mrs Undercover, directed by Anushree Mehta, also stars Sumeet Vya and Rajesh Sharma. The film released on Zee5 on April 14.