Regina Cassandra, who predominantly works down south, marked her unconventional Hindi screen debut alongside Sonam Kapoor Ahuja in Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (2019). In 2022, she was seen in shows like Rocket Boys, and Shoorveer, and now she is all set to play the role of an IPS officer in her upcoming show, Jaanbaaz Hindustan Ke, which is helmed by Srijit Mukherji. In an exclusive chat with The Free Press Journal, Regina talks about playing roles in the defence forces and more. Excerpts:
Are you attracted to the uniform roles from the defence?
For the longest time, people kept telling me that I should play the roles of a police officer, sportsperson, athlete, etc. I took things as they came; I never forced myself to do anything. And it so happens in my career that I have been doing such roles off late. But I have to strike a balance between such roles and other kinds of roles.
Go on…
With Saakini Daakini, Shoorveer, and now Jaanbaaz…, a lot of people might think that I am only doing these roles, but I also have Rocket Boys 2 and another Telugu girl role where I played a normal NRI girl. My choices are varied, and that’s how I always wanted them to be.
What were your preparations for playing IPS Kavya Iyer?
Firstly, I made sure that I had all the information from the writers, including whom they were basing it on and why. I saw a couple of interviews of Sanjukta Parashar, who is an IPS officer. Srijit sir made me rehearse with every other character in the show, be it Deepika Amin, Chandan Roy, etc. And I am grateful for these rehearsals, as they were of the utmost importance.
A still from the show
Do you believe that the physicality of an artist helps in being approached for certain roles?
I think that’s a given. I absolutely agree with it because physicality is part of your appearance. If one stands in civilian clothes as a police officer, you should be able to tell that the person is in the armed forces. I feel physicality is important while casting, which is why actors gain or lose weight for a particular role they are being offered. Appearance also plays a major part in getting into the skin of the character.
Elaborate further…
Whenever I have worn a police uniform, people have liked it. I am also a physically active person in the sense, that I like doing fight scenes, and taking a gun out. I also wanted to see if I would be able to pull off such characters since I believe that looking athletic and pulling them off in front of the camera are two different things.
Are you a strategist or do you go with the flow when it comes to choosing characters?
It has pretty much been the latter right from the beginning of my career, but it’s not that easy to put it this way either. I do pretty well when I am presented with offers and I have to choose. There’s a bit of structure to it.
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