Actress Ruchi Malviya on Dange climax: “It was majestic the way Bejoy executed it” – EXCLUSIVE!

Dange marks actress Ruchi Malviya’s third collaboration with director Bejoy Nambiar. In conversation with Cine Blitz, the girl from Indore talks about Dange, her character, challenges during the filming, and more.

What was director Bejoy Nambiar’s brief to you on Ritu’s character in Dange?

Ruchi Malviya: I think Bejoy had been working on this film for a long time. Whenever we met, he talked about it and told me that this was the idea that he had been working on. So, the conversation started from there. Then he called me one day and said, “There’s this role for you and I’d like you to play it.” He described Ritu’s character to me and said, “The character is powerful in the script. It might not have a very big screen time, but then it’s a very vital character.” He took me through the film’s timeline and characters. Then he asked for my audition and I got through.

Was the character and world on set different from what Bejoy had narrated to you?

Ruchi Malviya: I found it slightly different on day one of shooting. I have worked with him in the past on shows such as Kaala and Flip. There are just a lot of characters in all of his stories. So, you usually are not quite equipped with what’s happening with their stories. So, when I arrived on the set on day one, there were just a lot of people. Every now and then, I’d meet someone who talked about their character. And I was like, wait a minute. So, what’s happening with your character? It came as quite a surprise when each of the actors was talking about their characters. One layer after another was getting unfolded. Every day I’d get to know something additional about the script.

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Dange (Por in Tamil) was shot in two languages. How did that go?

Ruchi Malviya: Because we were shooting both languages, first we would have our Hindi industry actors. And then in the same setup, we’d have Tamil actors. I hadn’t seen many of those Tamil actors before on screen. Then they would try to get to know us and we try to get to know them. So, it was a very different setup, but a very interesting setup. Because then we’d also get to see them perform. It was quite a nice experience to meet people from other industries as well.

Most of Dange’s portions were shot at night. Were the continuous night shoots challenging?

Ruchi Malviya: We shot a lot at night. And because we were shooting in two languages, there was a lot of waiting time for a lot of actors. So, sometimes it would take 5-6 hours till our time came to shoot. Many of us were sharing vanity vans so we became like a family.

But having said that, it was hectic for the actors and not just for me. But I think one person who kept everyone going was RJ Kisna. He would just be there in every vanity with every person cracking up jokes. He kept the spirit alive on the set.

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Please describe to me the shooting experience of the climax sequence which is shot like a one-shot sequence.

Ruchi Malviya: It was majestic the way Bejoy executed it. He goes in his corner and plans everything. We all are staring at him because he doesn’t talk for a good ten minutes. After all, he’s evaluating the sequence in his head. We were clueless about how it was going to be shot. But then he explained to us the timeline of events and what exactly we needed to do. Bejoy is marvellous with his technique and the sequence came out beautifully.

What have been your experiences of Dange (fights) in your college?

Ruchi Malviya: So, when I first moved from Indore to Mumbai, I was a little sceptical because I was coming from a small town and didn’t know a lot about the city. So, I got through Wilson’s and I got through Sofia’s. I don’t know what made me choose Sofia’s then because I was a little inhibited at that time because I was coming from a small town. I was a little scared and vulnerable. So, I joined a girls’ college because I thought it would be much better and safer to be in a girls’ atmosphere.

So, there wasn’t a lot of drama happening there, but there was this section called the polytechnic section in Sofia’s where all the girls would sneak out at night and meet the boys there like any college student. So, that was just a bit of a college drama that was happening. But yeah, we would always have boys hanging around outside our college because it was a girls’ college.

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Your track in Dange explores romance and relationships. What was your take on romance and relationships during college days and has it changed over the years?

Ruchi Malviya: It has changed a lot over the years. Like I said, I was very naive and very vulnerable when I came from Indore. I didn’t have a lot going on. I was a very outdoorsy person. So, whatever love interest was there was a very school-immature kind of love thing. It was nice but superficial love. In Mumbai, I started meeting more people and I realized that what’s on the surface is not necessarily what’s the best for you. What’s inside is what matters. A lot of depth has come in the relationship and I’ve become much calmer in a relationship. I’ve realized the worst of people can bring out the worst in you, which happened back then. But yeah, I think it’s only about finding the right people and you should wait to find the right people in your life.

What are your upcoming projects?

Ruchi Malviya: I had a second season of my show called Mukesh Jasoos (Disney+ Hotstar) but that has unfortunately been cancelled. But I have this feature film which is still in talks in Los Angeles (LA). We’re going to be shooting in LA. My character is that of a South Asian girl. But I can’t talk much about that project. But hopefully, if everything goes well, then end of this year we’ll be shooting the international project.