Crediting filmmaker Ram Madhvani for crafting strong female characters, Nikita Dutta discusses why she couldn’t refuse The Waking Of A Nation
Letty Mariam Abraham (MID-DAY; March 4, 2025)
Nikita Dutta has been a history buff since childhood. So, when Ram Madhvani’s The Waking of a Nation came her way, she knew she had to be part of it. Even when the filmmaker mentioned the ‘no grooming clause’ for the character, she agreed without hesitation. The Waking Of A Nation revolves around the Hunter Commission, which is an investigation of the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. The actor, who previously starred in Ek Duje Ke Vaaste (2016), Gold (2018), Kabir Singh (2019), The Big Bull (2021), and Khakee: The Bihar Chapter (2022), among other things, discusses the privilege of working in a Madhvani show and why it features one of the “strongest characters” she has ever played. Edited excerpts from the interview.
How did you become part of The Waking Of A Nation?
I was called for this show while attending yoga school. I had to audition over the phone, which I had always believed never worked because there was no brief. I initially resisted, as the scene was one of the toughest in the show. But they insisted, so I recorded it without much thought. A week later, they called me. When I visited the office, Ram sir explained his 360-degree shooting style—no rehearsals, no lighting, no marks. He also asked if I was okay giving up vanity completely for the 1919 setting. I immediately agreed. I completed my yoga school and was vacationing in the Maldives when I got the call welcoming me on board.
Was it easy to give up vanity completely?
When we started workshops, I realized how much vanity I had to abandon. While I had no issue with it, living without waxing or make-up for three months was more challenging than expected. However, in front of the camera or during workshops, I felt free and liberated. It gave me a new sense of independence and allowed me to experiment.
What were the workshops like?
The workshops focused on two aspects: getting comfortable with the 360-degree shooting style and understanding the period’s [nuances]. We did extensive improvisations and worked on speech and reactions from that era. So they made us go through many workshops. That’s why we were able to pull it off. We were properly cooked by the time we came on set.
How much did you know about the Hunter Commission?
I, of course, have read about it because I am quite a history buff. The period of India’s independence struggle is something I’ve always been very fascinated with. What I did realize is that there are a lot of people who don’t know about this chapter of history. Of course, we all know about the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, but we do not know what happened before and after it. The Waking Of A Nation is inspired by all those historical events, while we have also fictionalized it a bit. I remember Ram sir had gifted us a book when we just started with our workshops and it had a lot of first-hand testimonies of people who have been a victim or have lost their relatives in the massacre. That was hard-hitting.
What excited you most about the era?
In the show, I run a printing press with my friend Albaksh [played by Sahil Mehta]. We shot in an actual 1919 printing press with fully functional machines. Witnessing how newspapers were printed—like small alphabets are put together on a slate and how an article comes together and the amount of strength you had to apply on it to print—was fascinating.
What do you think of Ram Madhvani as a filmmaker?
I think he’s one of the finest filmmakers I have worked with. He is one of the nicest persons apart from being a great filmmaker. There is, of course, his process of shooting, which is widely discussed, but there is so much more than that. Not many filmmakers give a lot of substance and priority to their women characters, but if you see his body of work—from Neerja [2016] to Aarya—you will see the women playing [strong characters]. You don’t just see Sonam [Kapoor], but also notice Shabana [Azmi] ma’am’s character standing out. He says he gets his inspiration from the women around him because he’s surrounded by strong women, from his wife to his mother. That reflects not just in front of the camera, but even off it. This entire show has been shot by four women cinematographers. They have been holding those heavy cameras on their shoulders and shooting. There is no concept of trolleys in his world of filmmaking. He took care of all the basics on set, even crew members. He made sure we had clean toilets exclusively for the women in all sorts of locations that we’ve shot.
How is your character, Poonam, depicted?
She is a strong, bold, and fierce woman—not in the stereotypical loud Punjabi way. He’s chosen to show me as a woman who has a voice, who worked back in the day, and as someone who can take control of situations within her capabilities. As an actor, it’s not every day that you get to play characters like this. It has been a privilege to be part of his filmmaking world. This is probably one of the strongest characters I’ve portrayed on screen in my life.