Raashii Khanna Says She Knew Arjun Sarja, Jiiva Would ‘Dominate’ Aghathiyaa: ‘If A Female Actor Is…’ | Exclusive
Raashii Khanna says that there's still a long way to go before producers can bank on a female star to headline a VFX-heavy film.
Tamil film Aghathiyaa starring Arjun Sarja, Jiiva and Raashii Khanna hit the screens last month. It may have had a short run at the box office but it left an impact for its experimental concept and VFX-heavy storytelling. And now, a month later, it’s all set for its digital premiere on Sun NXT on March 28. In an exclusive chat with News18 Showsha, Raashii reacts to how VFX-led films continue to remain a male-dominated space. According to her, she knew that Aghathiyaa would largely remain Arjun and Jiiva’s film but explains why it didn’t deter her from being a part of it.
She tells us, “When I heard the script, I knew what I was getting into. It’s good if commercial films reserve that much space for women. Aghathiyaa had Arjun sir and Jiiva, so I knew that would probably be dominating the film but I was fine with it. These things are fine as long as I know that my character is substantial and it has its own space (to bloom). I’ve always maintained that no matter how big or small my role is, it should have some impact, otherwise I’m replaceable and anyone can play the part that I’m supposed to play."
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Raashii points out that VFX-led films in India are still at a nascent stage and that it will take some time before producers can rely on a female actor or star to headline them. “There’s a long way to go before people can bank on us for a whole film, especially the one that’s VFX-led. Even now, when mainstream heroes do VFX-heavy films, the production needs to pump in a lot of money to make them. If a female actor is able to bring in audiences to theatres, producers will be happy to let them shoulder the film," she states.
But the Farzi and Yodha actor is ‘hopeful’. “Since we’re still experimenting with his genre, it’s still too early for a VFX-led film to be headlined by a female actor. I’m however hopeful that it will happen eventually. We’ve always looked at Hollywood when it comes to films with superlative VFX. But I’m glad that filmmakers here are now trying different things out. It’s high time that we start making more of such films."
According to her, the road ahead for supernatural-fantasy films looks promising and Raashii would want to give the credit to a Ranbir Kapoor film. “Brahmastra was one film whose special effects blew me away. I didn’t expect that much (VFX) in a Hindi film, to be very honest. But it set a precedent and gave us the belief that we can do it. There are, of course, budget issues, so we’ll have to figure out how much we can do within that budget. There’s always a set budget that’s allotted for VFX. Brahmastra was a big film and they did a great job when it comes to the VFX and special effects and I’ll always remember the film for that," Raashi remarks.
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