Exclusive! Sarika on Uunchai: Shooting for the film was physically exhausting

National Award-winning actress Sarika will next be seen in the film Uunchai. She got candid with OTTplay ahead of the film's release.

Sharing details about her character in the film, Sarika said, "My character's name is Mala, and she is an independent woman, who has a crucial part to play in the narrative. It is a well-etched out character and even though she does not talk much, her silence holds power."

Earlier as well, Sarika has played silent, yet powerful characters. In Tahaan, she played a mute woman, and a widow in Baabul. She is known for her performances in films like Parzania, Bheja Fry, Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors, Geet Gaata Chala and Hamraaz, among others.

Sarika tells us that it is important to have a sensible director to handle a character like the one she essays in Uunchai.

"When a character does not speak much, there is a possibility of getting lost in the presence of the other characters on screen. Here comes the vision of a sensible director. Soorajji (Sooraj Barjatya) treated Mala with a lot of care. As an artiste, I believe that silence is powerful in a performance, because there is a lot of intrigue in silence...you always try to find things that are unsaid. I find it exciting," shared Sarika.

Uunchai revolves around three friends - Amit, Om and Javed - who are in their 60s and decide to climb Mount Everest.

Large portions of the film were shot in Nepal, under extreme weather conditions, and Sarika shared how, even though it was a tough shoot, they managed to pull it off.

Sarika said, "It was an experience; it was not an easy shoot. But our production team really worked hard to make sure that everything was executed well. We would start our day early in the morning, drive for 2 hours to reach the top of the mountain, and go back before sunset. That was difficult, because we would get exhausted after a whole day of shooting. We did that for almost a month, so it was tiring, but Soorajji planned everything really well. We would finish shooting at one location and go back to Kathmandu before moving to the next location. It was a balanced schedule."

Directed by Sooraj Barjatya, produced by Rajshri Productions, and starring Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, Neena Gupta and Parineeti Chopra, apart from Sarika, Uunchai releases in theatres on November 11.