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Mrunal Thakur on completing 10 years as an actor: I gave up acting at one point

Mrunal Thakur has struggled against, apart from the challenges the film industry poses, losing hope at one point too

Published on: May 10, 2022, 17:47:27 IST
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Mrunal Thakur has struggled against, apart from the challenges the film industry poses, losing hope at one point too. It was after she gained fame on television, and wanted to get into films.

Actor Mrunal Thakur’s latest release is the film Jersey.
Actor Mrunal Thakur’s latest release is the film Jersey.

“I had confidence in myself, but there was a time when I felt it’s not working out. I gave up after four and a half years, but people don’t know I am facing the camera for 10 years now. I started in 2012, it’s my 10th year right now. The fun part is that I gave up, but travelled to Indonesia for six months and lived there. It was important for me to be facing the camera,” says the 29-year-old, whose latest film Jersey released recently.

She was seen in the 2016 Indonesian show Tuyul & Mbak Yul Reborn. Elaborating more, she continues, “At the same time, I was thinking how to wipe off that image of a TV actor. It had become a stereotype. Logon ke dimaag mein woh ban jaata hai, along with a lot of walls ‘she can’t do this because she did that, she shouldn’t do thisbecause she is doing that’ There are these permutations and combinations of assumptions that people have. It’s really disheartening sometimes.”

It was the film Love Sonia in 2018 which changed her career around, she admits. “It broke the stereotype… I needed to be seen in a character where it’s not someone wearing kilos of makeup to look pretty. It is one of the biggest challenges for an actor- yes she is pretty, but can she act? It was amazing to work with an international crew and Demi Moore. I felt that was the moment. Love Sonia was my ticket to Bollywood,” says Thakur, whose initial plan was to become a journalist.

She adds, “I was pursuing Bachelor of Mass Media, but I my first and only love was the camera, I wanted to be with him.”

  • Rishabh Suri
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Rishabh Suri

    Rishabh Suri is an Assistant Editor, film critic, and professional overthinker of plot points. He writes for HT City, keeping pace with an industry where news cycles expire long before the popcorn gets cold. He completed his graduation in English Honours from Kirori Mal College, followed by a Master’s degree in English Literature-effectively training his brain to over-analyse classic texts before applying those exact same skills to 3-hour Bollywood blockbusters. He got into the profession when he had barely graduated from college and has been at HT ever since. At HT, Rishabh reviews films with a simple rule: skip the dense academic jargon and get straight to the point. Beyond reviews, as Assistant Editor, he helps navigate the broader circus of showbiz, tracking everything from OTT shifts to sudden box office panics. In a beat driven by loud PR machinery and carefully scripted answers, Rishabh prefers cutting through the noise to focus on how stories get made and why trends shift. When he isn’t writing against a deadline, he is usually sitting in a dark theater, compulsively memorising dialogues. For Rishabh, analysing movies isn't just a day job- it’s a habit he couldn't turn off even if he tried.Read More