Actor Anjali Patil who will be playing the female lead opposite actor Abhay Deol in Prakash Jha’s next, Chakravyuh, feels quite lucky to have got the film.

“Chakravyuh was almost like a fairy tale,” she says. She plays a girl called Juhi in the thriller, which is based on the issue of Naxalism in India and the way the government chooses to tackle it. “I had sent my pictures to the casting agent some six months before they called me. I auditioned along with many known faces, but still managed to get the part,” says the NSD graduate, who has has previously acted in one feature film, Delhi in a Day, and several plays.

“I was very nervous before the shoot. But I was made to feel very comfortable once we started working. Prakash sir gave me a rough skeleton of the character, but he let me portray it my way,” she says.

Ask her how did it feel to shake a leg with Abhay in a song featuring the both of them, and she says, “I am a trained Kathak dancer, so following the steps wasn’t hard. But the song was more about sensuality and expressing through the eyes. I was wary of my performance initially, but Ganesh (Acharya) sir told me it was perfect.”

Quiz her on what is next on her agenda and she says, “I am taking my time reading scripts looking for the right role, as I don’t want to get typecast.”