They love to hate me: Mallika Prasad on impact of playing villain in Mardaani 3
In an exclusive interview with India Today, actor Mallika Prasad talks about her character in Mardaani 3 and how it changed her life. He also remembered sharing the screen with Rani Mukherjee.
Actress Mallika Prasad, who plays the villain in Rani Mukherjee’s Mardaani 3, is happy with the response to her larger-than-life role. In an exclusive conversation with India Today, the actor talks about the love that pleasantly surprised him, and why he isn’t worried about being stuck in negative roles.
Mallika Prasad, who has spent many years in theater Playing complex women on screen, It is said that this time the scale of love is different and deeply valid. He said, “It feels really good. I’m really glad that the audience accepted this character. They absolutely love to hate Amma, which I think, in some ways, is also a nod to this franchise, which brings out such fantastic villains. I’m grateful to be a part of it and grateful for the love the audience has given me since the trailer released.”
While many are calling this her first big negative role, Mallika clarified that she has played gray roles before, but never on this scale. “I think I’m very grateful to be associated with such a big franchise and production house and to reach so many people. If it wasn’t for that manlyI would never be talked about so highly by so many people. And I wouldn’t have gotten this kind of exposure. It is not just India; It’s from all over the world that I’m getting feedback. So for that I am completely grateful and it feels great.”
Having been an actress for a long time, she described this as her first proper, larger-than-life villain role. Prasad said, “I have played many complex characters in the past. I have played many strong female roles like a queen diplomat, Goddess Ahilya Bai, Draupadi, Titania, where it is the woman who really drives the story. So this is not new to me. But this love definitely is, and such widespread acceptance of this character is definitely a very pleasant surprise.”
Apart from the love from the fans, Prasad was impressed by the reaction of the film’s team at the pre-release screening. “Actually, we had a cast and crew screening where the family, friends and family that created this franchise were present, and I got a chance to see everyone who worked on it. manly Whom I never met on the set. I got a chance to meet him and hear his feedback on how it felt to edit this character.”
“So it was lovely that people who were probably looking at my face for this one year still had nice things to say about the character and the work that we’ve done together. So it’s always great to hear that. The word on the street and the buzz has come back, and a lot of people in the industry have congratulated and said what a great job. And that feels good,” she told us.
She added, “A very common response I heard from young girls, men, mothers, aunties during screenings, almost everyone said the same thing: ‘We hate you and we love you for the same reason.’ They say it with so much energy and affection that I never thought I’d find something like that. I’m really happy with it.”
manly Has built a reputation for memorable villains. But Mallika says that she did not play this role keeping the pressure in mind. She said, “I’m not one of those people who wants pressure and all that. The truth is I’m very happy to be a part of this hall of fame of villains from this franchise. In fact after the film released I went and saw other villains who were a part of it. I’m also a teacher. I teach actors, so I know every actor brings his own uniqueness to a role. So it feels good to be a part of it.”
Talking about comparison with other competitors manly About the franchise, he said, “I think actors as human beings bring something unique from their life experience. To compare and say this is better and that is not so good, I think there is a world of the film, and in that world, is it believable? That’s what makes it memorable. We have to appreciate that for the film, and also look at the actor who is going to do other things as well. It’s kind of like that for actors who star in Mardaani. There is a lift-off platform. So this kind of comparison is not healthy.”
Prasad recalled how the casting director discovered his performance bloody soup. “I’m very grateful to Shanu (Sharma) who found me. I’ve always got work based on my previous work. Just two days ago, I had asked, how did you find me? Because some other casting agency called and said, ‘How did they find you?’ – in a very jealous way, which felt great, I must say.”
Mallika further said, “Shanu said that she was watching bloody soup. He found Zubaida and sent me a scene from there. I remember doing self-tapes and then forgetting about it, which is what actors do. They give their audition and then hope someone calls back. And that’s it, you carry on with life. He called and said, ‘I haven’t seen such a good audition in a long time.’ Will you come to meet us?’ It feels great to hear a callback for any actor who auditions.”
Coming from a non-film background, she credits her family for her support, and it was her father who supported her decision to become an actor.
Prasad admitted that she criticizes her work, but in a constructive way. “Unless I’m creating work, I’m very protective because I don’t want anyone to derail the track I’m on. I take criticism knowing that it has to be constructive. It has to be building on something rather than being destructive. It’s very important to have people around you who tell you the truth, even if it’s uncomfortable, that’s the way to move forward,” she said.
Looking ahead, she is clear about the kind of work she wants to do. She shared, “I’m looking for characters that are interesting, complex, that come from the lived experience of being a woman in today’s world. I’m looking for good scripts.”
Interestingly, Mallika revealed that her intense confrontation scenes with Rani Mukherjee were shot separately. “We shot those confrontation scenes separately. Those fight scenes, in all of them, I was the stand-in and so was he. That’s the most interesting aspect of this cat-and-mouse situation, the hero against the opponent, where you don’t really know what’s going to happen on the other side, and that’s the game,” she said.
She met Rani at the beginning of the project and during the puja ceremony of the film. Prasad concluded, “We met once at the beginning of the shoot. He welcomed me to the franchise. He said everyone here loves you and said we have similar eyes and that’s literally it. We are yet to meet after the film.”
Meanwhile, during its run, macho 3 Has faced competition especially at the ticket window confrontation with war drama border 2. Despite this, the film managed to maintain a consistent audience in theaters and completed its first week with a net collection of Rs 26.3 crore. The second week opened with Rs 1.85 crore on Friday and reached Rs 2.75 crore on Saturday, indicating continued interest.
