Mrunal Thakur: “For far too long, on screen characters in uniform have been typecast”

According to Mrunal Thakur, characters in uniform are still trapped in a box in the film industry. She has embarked on a tough training regimen for her upcoming film in an effort to change that. She is undergoing rigorous physical training to accurately portray a female police officer in Gumraah.

“The first thing I ensured was to avoid any stereotypes. For far too long characters in uniform in movies and on screen have been typecast a certain way. So this character is more adapted into reality. And that’s how we are trying to break the usual “idea” of a female cop,” said Thakur.

She has done everything to capture the spirit of a police officer, from physical training to maintaining the body while running with skilled athletes to handling various sorts of weaponry. “My preparation for the role also involved talking to and spending time with some female cops of our force in order to understand their world through a better lens,” reveals the Jersey actor.

She adds, “Having confidence in yourself is the absolute prime. I haven’t really taken any body training to be honest for the role, it’s more prep as a character, as opposed to gaining physical strength for the role.”

Talking about her training, the actress says, “I’m mostly doing a lot of visual references. Watching a lot of content, videos to educate myself. Because being aware is the key for me”. “More than challenging, it is the need to ensure we escape any tropes while playing such roles on screen, and to understand the psyche of a person in a position of power and uniform is very crucial according to me for this role especially,” she notes while wrapping up.