Hansika is no stranger to comedy. Right from her Shaka Laka Boom Boom days as a child artist, this genre has been a staple in her career and includes films like Mappillai, Settai, Pokkiri Raja and Gulebahawali. Even in masala entertainers like Velayudham, her roles often attempted to lighten the narrative.
While she opted to play her most serious role in her 50th film Maha, she is now back to comedy for her 51st film, Partner, which also features Aadhi. “Humour comes naturally to me. It is a sentiment that I find more challenging. I will continue to pick comedy films as long as they excite me,” says Hansika, who talks of feeling no pressure to do only women-centric films. “These days, I have started listening to scripts as an audience member rather than an actor. If I get bored 10 minutes into the narration, I turn the film down, even if it offers me a great role.”
Asked if she has a dream role, she says, “Every role I have played is a dream come true. I feel placing too much aspiration on a single role will affect my other performances. Having said that, I have always wanted to play a man onscreen… and that has happened in Partner.” The actor plays the woman version of Yogi Babu, who undergoes a gender transformation on account of a science experiment gone wrong.
It’s a role she considers to be quite special for many reasons.
“When we play characters with masculine undertones, we are often asked to retain a bit of our feminine side. But here, there were no such filters. I just needed to ensure that my performance mirrored Yogi Babu without coming across as a caricature,” shares Hansika, who apparently watched a movie marathon of Yogi Babu films as part of her research. “I developed a unique body language for my version of Yogi. Director Manoj Dhamodaran’s inputs were helpful, and we improvised a lot as well,” she adds.
Even though Hansika is a teetotaller, scenes in which she plays drunk characters have become quite famous. In Partner too, there’s such a scene. “This was probably the most challenging scene for me. The first few takes felt similar to my performances in films like Romeo Juliet and Bogan. But after a few attempts, I got it right. It was an absolute riot shooting the scene,” she says, laughing.
While actors often gravitate to established filmmakers after attaining stardom, Hansika has not hesitated to join hands with newcomers in frequent intervals. Even her 50th film Maha was directed by a debutant, UR Jameel. “I don’t see such collaborations as risks. I feel the filmmakers are taking a risk too, as they don’t know how I’ll be performing the role they have envisioned for me. Every artistic collaboration is a gamble. Experience is never a filter for me, but talent and integrity are.”
Having had quite a break—just one release since last year—due to some of her releases getting delayed, and of course, her wedding as well, Hansika hopes to break the rut with a streak of releases this year. She plays double roles in her web-series debut MY3 and R Kannan’s Gandhari. “I had to go five shades darker for my role in Gandhari. It required five hours of make-up every day,” she reveals.
Also in the pipeline are Igore’s Man, a drama that discusses misogyny, and a film called 105 Minutes which is promoted as a ‘single-character, single-shot film’. “People will see me a lot this year, as I’ve got several releases lined up for both theatre and television,” says Hansika, with a parting smile.