It was only a few days ago that Radhika Apte expressed, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, her aversion to films that "sell violence as entertainment" — a comment that has been called out by irate netizens who cited her past work in numerous dark, gritty, violent, and taboo-breaking films and shows.
Now, in an interview with PTI, Madhuri Dixit stated that she, alongside her Mrs Deshpande director Nagesh Kukunoor, chose to prioritise "emotional depth over graphic depictions of violence and gore," while being aware of her responsibility as an artist.
The veteran actress plays a serial killer in Mrs Deshpande, Kukunoor's six-episode web series. It's the complete opposite — in terms of her appearance — of the decked-up, glamorous characters she did in some of her most popular hits such as Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Dil Toh Pagal Hai, Devdas, and Total Dhamaal.
The series will begin streaming on JioHotstar on December 19.
She added that despite this awareness, she also understands that they are actors who have to try out different characters, suggesting that some things are beyond their control.
"The responsibility is always there. But we are actors, we play different kinds of roles, and we cannot be responsible for everything. As a director, he (Kukunoor) was very clear that it's not the violence we're talking about; it's not the killings; it's the emotion; it's not like gore and all. It's the story, it's her character, it's the revelations, and what's happened with her; those are the important parts of the story. So, when people watch the series, they'll realise that it's not about just that (violence). We were never going for shock value," she said.
On his part, Kukunoor also felt the approach was more sensible. "It was a very, very conscious choice to make sure that we kept the drama and the twists and the relationships working as opposed to the gore and the violence to take centre stage," the Hyderabad Blues director said.
An actor himself, Kukunoor was recently seen in crucial roles in the shows Paatal Lok (Season 2) and The Hunt: The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case.
Despite being surprised at being approached for a character, Madhuri Dixit later understood what it was all about. "For a second, I was like, me, serial killer? But it's not about just being a serial killer, it's about her story, it's about who she is, the layers 'Mrs Deshpande' has; she's seemingly just an ordinary housewife, but there's so much more to her than that. It's not just about the killing, but it's more of the emotion, and that's what I liked about the character."
