Ikka director Siddharth P. Malhotra reveals Rani Mukerji's unique acting process

Director Siddharth P Malhotra who is known for lsquoHichki lsquoMaharajrsquo and lsquoIkkarsquo has shared his experience of working with actors from across generationsHe has worked with some of the finest actors of India including Rani Mukerji Kareena Kapoor Khan Kajol Sunny Deol and Jaideep Ahlawat The director heaped praise on Jaideep and said that the latter comes fullyprepared on setsSharing his experience of working with a wide range of actors he told IANS ldquoOne of the greatest joys of filmmaking is that every actor comes with a completely different process and as a director part of your job is understanding that process and adapting to it There is no onesizefitsall approach Take Rani for example Shersquos an incredibly instinctive actor On lsquoHichkirsquo she spent a lot of time understanding Tourette Syndrome understanding the character and just as importantly understanding what was in my head as a director Wersquod spend hours discussing how a scene should feel rather than how it should be performed Once she internalized the character and found her rhythm she became incredibly spontaneous Shersquos not someone who enjoys endless rehearsals Once shersquos there emotionally itrsquos often one or two takes and shersquos done something magicalrdquoHe further mentioned ldquoOn the other hand someone like Neeraj Kabi loves preparation and rehearsal He likes knowing every line every beat every nuance before stepping onto the floor Thatrsquos his process and itrsquos equally fascinating to watch Kajol is pure instinct The camera comes on and shersquos magic The camera goes off and shersquos laughing reading a book completely detached from the intensity of the scene she just delivered Kareena is similarly spontaneous but in a very different way Shersquoll surprise you with variations and instincts that are uniquely hers There isnrsquot a heavy method process but there is tremendous confidence and star instinctrdquoHe shared that Jaideep immerses him in the world of the character and wants to understand the politics of the place the climate the social environment the ideology the backstory the psychology of his characterHe shared ldquoThen you have actors like Jaideep Ahlawat who immerse themselves deeply in the world of the character He wants to understand everything the politics of the place the climate the social environment the ideology the backstory the psychology By the time he arrives on set hersquos done all the homework Then he becomes a wonderful directorrsquos actor because once the foundation is built hersquos completely collaborative Working with newcomers is a very different responsibility altogether With Junaid in lsquoMaharajrsquo I felt a directorrsquos role is not just to guide but to protect Experienced actors know instinctively what to do and what not to do A newcomer is still discovering that My responsibility was to create an environment where he could succeed highlight his strengths and ensure that he was presented in the best possible way The same applied to Sharvari and Shalini in different waysrdquoHe feels that it is important to give actors the freedom while also providing a strong framework and support systemHe went on ldquoThen there are actors like Sunny Sir whose trust is extraordinary He would understand the scene understand the emotional logic and then completely commit to the directorrsquos vision That level of trust is a gift Akshaye Khanna is similarly wonderful to work with but he likes clarity Once he understands the scene hersquos often a onetake or twotake actor If yoursquore asking for another take hersquod want to know why and rightly so It keeps you sharp as a director because you need to have complete conviction in your choices And then actors like Tilotama or Dia who enjoy exploring character histories and emotional backstories finding the layers that may never even appear on screen but help inform every moment What Irsquove learned over the years is that directing actors is less about imposing a process and more about understanding each individualrsquos processrdquoldquoEvery actor is different every collaboration is different and thatrsquos what keeps it exciting Yoursquore constantly learning constantly adapting Ultimately the magic happens somewhere between preparation and surprise My job is to create an environment where actors feel safe enough to explore challenge themselves and take risks When that happens something extraordinary can emergemdashsomething neither the actor nor the director could have created alone Thatrsquos still the most rewarding part of filmmaking for merdquo he addedMeanwhile lsquoIkkarsquo is set to stream on July 10 2026 on NetflixThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever