Rana Naidu actor Surveen Chawla: We are done with women portraying Miss Goody Two Shoes onscreen | Exclusive

Surveen Chawla has been a part of the Netflix India world since its first original series, Sacred Games. The actor played the iconic role of Jojo Mascarenas, a recurring character in the show. In 2021, she featured in another Netflix series titled Decoupled, where she was paired opposite R Madhavan. Now, the actor is gearing up for the release of Rana Naidu on Netflix. In the series, she plays Naina and stars with Venkatesh Daggubati and Rana Daggubati.

During an exclusive interaction with OTTplay, Surveen was asked: "When a series like Rana Naidu comes your way, what are the aspects that you keep in mind while saying yes to the project?" The actor listed out three ticks in her box, stating, "First and foremost, I think it would be that I have never played a part like this before, which is my tick box number one. I don't want to repeat myself; in fact, there was a time right after I did a film called Parched with Leena Yadav. There was a very similar role offered to me by a prolific director. I remember turning it down, and I felt terrible about saying no to that because I felt like I'd have nothing new to offer to this kind of part because I'd just done it a few months ago. I think that for me, that's my first tick box to check to kind of push that boundary and push that envelope and take another route because the path requires that, so for that reason, that's number one."

She further shared, "Second, for me, I want to be sure that the director that I'm working with is willing to go the extra mile to write apart and then play through and see through right till the end as a woman who's flawed because we have dealt with times when women were portrayed as Miss Goody Two Shoes, kind of a scenario, and nobody wants to do that. No, I don't think any actor in the industry wants to play those kinds of parts anymore because they just seem so right and perfect. As far as the role is concerned, I find the challenge in the imperfections."

Finally, Surveen added, "Number three would also be the entire package, right from what the script is to what the world that has been created is like, and for this particular show, I feel the world is so dysfunctional. There was so much chaos around Naina's character and within her life that I think all my boxes were kind of checked."

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Often times, actors have to play characters whose ideologies they might not agree with. So when asked how she detaches herself while playing such characters, as acting is an immersive process, the performer went on to say, "So for me, I feel like at the end of any project, I just feel like time heals the scars that any character emotionally leaves on you."

Surveen also revealed, "I try to keep myself very detached, which is why it doesn't happen immediately. But over time, when you've kind of left that project behind, you suddenly find yourself subconsciously in a situation that would be alien to your reaction. You find yourself reacting or responding to that particular situation. Not like me, because there are traces of what you've done on camera that have kind of gone with you. I feel like it's something that grows on you. It's an emotion that grows on you, the part that you play. You've sown the seed, and it takes time to kind of grow, and it manifests in ways, forms, and shapes at times that you least expect it to. That's when you realise that's not coming from my thoughts, and I did that then. So that kind of surprises me sometimes, but I feel like you're well aware of it."

The actor concluded by stating, "I feel like switching off, and I don't take it back. I feel like it's muscle memory. It's an emotional memory that you've created, which will just be there. Right? It's an emotional memory and a similar situation in your life. We would like to play parts that are very close to life, which are far more real than, I mean, of course, it depends on the script, but pretty much real, right? You can identify with them; you can resonate with them; they're relatable as human beings, and you believe that human beings, this human, is a possible creation, right? So when the time comes, it's an emotional memory that kind of takes over, and you end up being, for that moment, that person that you don't identify with. But you created a memory in one of the parts that you probably played. It's like muscle memory; it's never forgotten."