Mrunal Thakur, who debuted on the silver screen with Love Sonia (2018), has worked with a few prominent filmmakers within a short span of three years. Filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra was always there on her wish list, but she never imagined the opportunity would present itself so early on in her career with Toofaan.
Also starring Farhan Akhtar, the sports drama features Thakur in the role of a doctor who is instrumental in transforming its protagonist Aziz Ali from a henchman to a professional boxer.
“Rakeysh sir did not know I was a Maharashtrian and the character we were discussing was also one. At that point, I knew I still did not have the film; I had to work hard for it. It was necessary for me to test for the character, for him to believe I could play it and for me to get closer and understand what this girl is about. It was my dream to work with him. I thought it would take me at least 15 films to even get that opportunity, but I am blessed that I got it at such an initial stage of my career,” Thakur tells a newswire.
Talking about Ananya, the character that she essays in the film, the actress says, “She is a liberal, lovely girl, a catalyst who helps Ajju to transform into Aziz, to follow his passion and channelise all his energy into something nice. Ananya is someone who is not just going to inspire the audience but also change the way filmmakers, people look at Bollywood actress.”
Thakur calls it one of the meatiest characters she has got to play in her career so far. “This is one of the meatiest characters I got a chance to perform. I feel fortunate to have played the role. Characters like these are not written often,” she says.
Produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s Excel Entertainment along with Mehra's ROMP Pictures, Toofaan is scheduled to release on Amazon Prime Video on July 16.
