Radhikka Madan is riding high on the appreciation she has been receiving for Sarfira co-starring Akshay Kumar, a retelling of the Tamil film Soorarai Pottru. While the Sudha Kongara film has been garnering glowing reviews, it had a rather slow start at the box office. Reacting to its underwhelming performance, Radhikka exclusively tells News18 Showsha, “I wish more people go and see the film but it’s not in my hands. Whoever has seen it has given it a lot of love but I hope Sarfira gets a lot more.”
She reveals that she usually doesn’t ‘delve deep’ into the box office performance of her films and in this case, she’s letting her directors and producers – the ‘experts’ – keep a tab on the numbers. “What was in my control was my performance and imparting a certain kind of truth there and I’ve done that. I’m always ready to do what the makers ask me to do for the film. But box office isn’t my area of expertise. They let me do my job and now it’s my time to let them do theirs. They’re doing their best in terms of how they want to promote the film,” she states.
It’s rare for a remake or an adaptation to receive the same amount of appreciation as its original film. But Sarfira has been a norm-breaker. Recently, Dulquer Salmaan took to social media heaping praises on the film. Talking about it, Radhikka shares, “It has been overwhelming. I just feel so grateful right now. I’ve been getting messages and calls every day.”
Lauding her portrayal of a Maharashtrian girl in the film, Akshay said that it marks her career best performance. Quiz her about it and she says, “It was very kind of him to say that. It as validating for sure! He made my night. He said it while talking to the audience when I was standing behind him. I looked up at him and was like, really? I was shocked. It was gracious of him to say that. That just shows how secure he is as a person.”
According to Radhikka, her character is special also because it pulled her out of ‘a dark place’. “Rani came into my life when I was doing Sanaa, which was a very dark film. And Rani came as a breath of fresh air. She’s so uninhibited and she reminded me of who I was. I had forgotten that version of myself. This character took away every fear that I had in my life at that point. It’s bizarre how characters come to you to take you out of a particular space,” she remarks.
On the personal front, earlier this year, she joined the bandwagon of actors like Riteish Deshmukh, Ajay Devgn and Nushrratt Bharuccha, among others, and changed her name’s spelling from Radhika to Radhikka. Commenting on the same, she tells us, “My mom believes in numerology. Maa ko khush rakhna bahut important hai. There’s no other reason but this.”
