Mrunal Thakur has never been busier, but she’s not complaining. Her only grouse is a day has only 24 hours, and understandably so. She teed off 2023 as a cop in the action-thriller Gumraah, before starring in R Balki’s segment in Lust Stories 2, followed by playing a victim of domestic violence in Made in Heaven 2. Still basking in the glory of her recently released war film Pippa, the actor is awaiting the release of her new Telugu film, Hi Nanna, also starring southern star Nani, to hit the screens.
Scheduled to release on December 7, this is her second film in the language after the period romantic drama, Sita Ramam, last year. “I want to do more Telugu cinema, but I need to wait for the right scripts. I instantly fell in love with the story of Hi Nanna. I am a sucker for love, meeting and parting, and all that comes with it. I felt that romance in films was fading until Sita Ramam brought it back. I want to continue the legacy with Hi Nanna,” asserts Thakur.
Unlike most actors, who explore southern cinema before making their Bollywood break, the 31-year-old did the opposite. Thakur began her career with television soaps such as Mujhse Kuchh Kehti…Yeh Khamoshiyaan and Kumkum Bhagya, followed by her Hindi film debut with Love Soniya, which bombed at the box office. It was only after finding her footing in Bollywood with dramas such as the Hrithik Roshan-starrer Super 30, Toofan alongside Farhan Akhtar and Jersey with Shahid Kapoor, that she ventured South.
“Cinema is all about emotions, and emotions can be expressed in any language. Actors considering language a barrier are limiting themselves to a particular type of audience, which I don’t want to do,” elaborates Thakur. She reveals that she grew up all across the country, and changed schools 11 times, thanks to her father’s transferable job, almost prepping her to be accepting of different cultures. That is the reason why she will not choose one industry over the other.
“Both Bollywood and Tollywood are my strengths. Which is why, I have dubbed for Hi Nanna in Hindi so that my northern audience can also enjoy it,” adds the actor, who has another Telugu project, Family Star, with Vijay Deverakonda in the pipeline.
In Bollywood, Thakur has the thriller, Pooja Meri Jaan, directed by Navjot Gulati, up for release next year. It will also star Huma Qureshi and Vijay Raaz. Having largely done issue-driven, serious films, the actor admits to wanting to do a quintessential Bollywood masala film with “songs, dance and fashion”. “I am very keen on fashion, even off screen, and like experimenting with clothes and make-up. I would love to do something on the lines of the Netflix series Emily in Paris,” she says. Having your feet in two boats may not be a bad thing, after all.
