No One Killed Jessica (2011), starring Rani Mukerji and Vidya Balan, completed 15 years on January 7. It was director Raj Kumar Gupta’s second film after the much-loved Aamir (2011) and is memorable for several reasons, one of them being that it brought two powerhouse performers together. While Rani proved her worth as the fearless go-getter Meera, Vidya too left a mark as a sister fighting for justice. She followed it up with The Dirty Picture (2011) and Kahaani (2012) and became a force to reckon with then. Meanwhile, Myra Karn played Jessica and she also got noticed. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, the talented writer-director Raj Kumar Gupta opened up about the casting of No One Killed Jessica.
Was there pressure on you to change the character of Rani Mukerji into a male?
Of course! Whoever read the script loved it. But that was a time when the female-oriented films were not doing well. Meanwhile, my script had not one, but two female characters! So, I was advised by many that I should change the journalist into a male. They used to say, ‘Picture mein hero leke aaiye’. I replied, ‘But both the female characters in my film are heroes’! I never had this thought in my mind that I was writing a female-oriented film. For me, it was always that the script had two protagonists, and both were equally strong.
It was very easy to change Meera into a male. I also had a critically and commercially successful film behind me (Aamir; 2008). It was very well liked as well. Hence, it would have been easier casting a male as that character had great implications in the case. However, I stuck to my guns.
The first actor we cast was Vidya. I wanted to first get done with casting the character of Sabrina.
No. In fact, she was very open. We also added a lot of nuance and quirks to her character after she came in. She also came up with certain suggestions. Her character was bold. She was a journalist; a representation of the whole media and the media was very proactive on this case. That’s how her proactive character came in. When you have a bold actor, you also tend to modify a couple of aspects to see how much you can push. This often happens; you notice their manner and behaviour and then you rewrite a couple of scenes to make sure you include what you are seeing in their personality.
Which were the dialogues which you improvised after Rani Mukerji came on board? Was it the one in the flight?
Yes. Then there’s a scene where the house help calls her ‘kutti’. And she replies, ‘Suna maine’! Such improvisation was applied to other actors as well. If you remember that dialogue ‘Main chhatt pe tha’ and the lawyer replaying ‘Kab tak chhat pe rahega’. It was there in the script but until and unless, you get an actor who can really deliver those lines, you make the change because the humour is not slapstick. It is situational and character-driven. So, the credit goes to every actor, be it Vidya, Rani and others.
It was said during the time of release that it took you a year to convince Myra Karn to play the role of Jessica…
The process from writing to casting took me a year and a half. Meanwhile, Myra and I were friends. There was this very famous photograph of Jessica where she was smiling. That smile was very bright. Meanwhile, Myra also has a great smile and laugh. So, whenever I saw Jessica’s photograph, I used to be reminded of Myra. That’s why I kept persuading her. She thought I was joking and pulling her leg. When we began casting, I insisted that she should audition. It took me a lot of time to convince her. I simply told her, ‘You be what you are. Do nothing else’. She was finally convinced. She cracked the audition and signed the film.
You had a cameo in the film and so did Vikas Bahl, Amar Kaushik and Vasan Bala. It was a multi-starrer of cameos by directors!
(Laughs) I just did the cameo for fun. When you are under so much pressure while shooting, you want to relax. Also, the assistants tell you, ‘Yeh wala character kar do’!
More Pages: No One Killed Jessica Box Office Collection , No One Killed Jessica Movie Review
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