Animal | Triptii Dimri on her bond with Rashmika Mandanna on the sets: She made me feel welcome

Rashmika Mandanna and Triptii Dimri (Pic/Stills from movie)

Triptii Dimri has been showcasing her talent and craft through the projects she's taken on for the past few years. You may already know her from 'Bulbul' or 'Qala', but if you've just heard her name, it's due to the soaring recognition she received for her role in the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer 'Animal'. She's even been called 'national crush' by the people of India.

The actress recently opened up about her experience and time on the set with Puja Talwar. The actress talked about Rashmika Mandanna, who plays Ranbir Kapoor's wife, Geetanjali. She revealed how Rashmika was nothing but nice and welcoming on the sets, saying, "Usually, when there are two heroines in the film, there is always that energy... There was nothing; she was just so brilliant. She came to me, and she gave me a hug, and she was like, Come sit with us. She could also see that I was awkward a little (laughs), but she just made me feel welcomed. I think that is such a beautiful quality to have."

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In a conversation with Mid-Day, Triptii even divulged about the intimate scenes she had to shoot with Ranbir Kapoor. Triptii credits her co-star and director for creating a safe space on set. "The day sir offered me the film, he told me about these scenes. He said, ‘I promise you it will be aesthetically shot. But if you aren't comfortable with it, we'll think of a different way to do it.' The rape scene that I did in Bulbbul was traumatic. I had to leave myself behind to portray that. I used the same [approach] here. There were four people on set - Ranbir, Sandeep sir, the DoP and I. The monitors were shut. [I] felt I was surrounded by people who respected me. "

Animal is being criticised for the brazen misogyny of its lead character and some disturbing sequences, including one where Kapoor's character asks Dimri to lick his shoe. "We did discuss a lot. I learnt in acting classes that you never judge your character. A character is also a human being and human beings are allowed to make mistakes. The day you judge your character, you won't be able to play it honestly and people will catch it. As for this scene, prior to that, she is talking about killing him, his wife, his kids so there's a lot at stake for him. So, I made sense of the scene like this." Even as she acknowledges and respects the different opinions surrounding the movie, Dimri points out that Kapoor's character is not glorified. "His wife leaves him, his father is going to die. He is left with nothing. We see our mothers as figures of perfection, who have to do everything right. Why do we view our heroes the same way? We forget he is also a human being and is allowed to make mistakes."