27 June,2023 02:06 PM IST | mumbai | Natasha Coutinho D`souza
Tillotama Shome
Tillotama Shome who plays the role of RAW agent Lipika in 'The Night Manager' co-starring Anil Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapur and Sobhita Dhulipala among others, got into an exclusive chat with mid-day.com.
The photogallery here
The actress spoke about her character being kept under wraps in season one, her confrontation scene with Kapoor and much more. Speaking about season one she said, "I'm really touched by the kind of love that Lipika's character got, it's very encouraging. I was told that in the original, Olivia Coleman plays the character quite straightforward and I did not watch the series because I am a fan. If I saw it I would not be able to unsee it. It doesn't matter what the similarities might be given it's an adaptation but the life of a RAW agent in India is very different from an agent elsewhere. I just decided to follow the script and planned what her walk would be like along with the idiosyncrasies." She adds that her character being a professional in a male dominated world understands how to navigate her way around. "She uses manipulation and humour. She is very stubborn which is a great way to subvert the system. She knows how to stroke the ego of her male bosses, just the right way."
She adds that her confrontation with Shelly aka Kapoor was a "pinch me moment." She said, "I've not grown up on a fair amount of Indian cinema, we largely read books, instead of watching movies. 'Mr India' was definitely an iconic film and getting to do a scene with him 22 years into my career was a gift of patience and resilience. It was fitting that it was him because he has shown us how to survive decade after decade in an industry by constantly reinventing himself. It's not just that he looks young, he is young! He ahs worked hard to keep himself young by being curious about his co-actors and processes and his team. He wants to collaborate with younger people and not just known names. To have a face off with someone of that vintage and yet is relevant was amazing."
