Exclusive! Archana Jois: I am a victim of the haunted house in Mansion 24

Archana Jois is just back in Bengaluru after a whirlwind trip of Mumbai for the promotions of her upcoming film Ghost. While she’s had the experience of being a part of a pan-India film earlier with the KGF franchise, her presence in the first part was not revealed earlier and the promotions for Chapter 2 in the other cities were majorly driven by Yash, Sanjay Dutt and Raveena Tandon. In that sense, the Mumbai leg of Ghost promotions was a different experience for the actress.

“It was, no doubt, hectic, but a truly enriching experience. I have never sat in with a star or with actors of that stature for interviews. It was nice being with Shivarajkumar sir and Jayaram sir. Having said that, I must clarify that I have a very minor role in Ghost. I am, however, the only female character in the film, and play a reporter who is covering the prison heist from the outside. In fact, I don’t even have combination scenes with anyone else on the cast,” she says, adding, “I don’t want people to later wonder why I did so many interviews when I have a limited role in the film.”

Archana Jois: I enjoy the KGF-fame tag, but it’s time to move on and Kshetrapathi is a step in that direction 

Although Archana had met Shivarajkumar during the trailer launch of KGF: Chapter 2 in Bengaluru, there was barely any interaction then because it was a busy event. “On October 13 in Mumbai, though, we got to speak a lot. I also got to meet his wife Geethakka and daughter Niveditha, which was nice. The best compliment I got from Shivanna was that he said I speak like Radhika (Pandit, his Kaddipudi co-star).

Ghost, which is coming to theatres on October 19, is not the only Dasara offering that Archana has. The actress is set to make her Telugu web series debut with Mansion 24, which will be on Disney+Hotstar on October 17. Mansion 24 is a 6-episode horror anthology, with all the episodes having a common thread. “The basic premise of Mansion 24 revolves around a daughter’s quest to find her missing father, who was last seen at a certain mansion. Turns out, several people’s last known whereabouts have been recorded as this mansion and my character is one of the victims of the haunted house, all of which is revealed during the protagonist’s ‘investigation’ into her father’s disappearance. That’s all that I can reveal at this point,” she says.

Archana adds that she was contacted by the team of Mansion 24 after KGF: Chapter 2. “I like watching web series, especially the kind in which episodes end on a cliff-hanger or some plot lead in to the next, which hooks you on to a show; so, the idea of being a part of one appealed to me. Mansion 24 is directed by Ohmkar, who is a popular name in Telugu circles, and it made sense to be a part of the show, even though, horror as a genre is not something that I like. As an actress, all that I look for is an interesting story and the scope of performance that I have. It doesn’t matter to me whether it is a film or a web series,” she signs off.