Location Diaries: Die another day

Heroine Mirnalini Ravi, who plays a reporter in the upcoming film, Jango, was able to understand the rigours of TV journalism during her shoot. “I got the opportunity to shoot inside the studio of a Chennai news channel. We shot after midnight, after their live news telecast got over,” she says. “Sitting in a newsroom, surrounded by cameras and wall-mounted television screens, helped me feel like a real news anchor," says Mirnalini.

It’s a ‘bold, independent character’ who isn’t scared to look for the truth. "It’s a character who isn’t scared of rowdies or their dangerous hideouts. In one scene, I get kidnapped by them, and the actors hired to play the part were tall, burly stuntmen. I got a bit scared of them,” she says, laughing. “For a scene, they pulled me into a van.” Once the scene was over, the stuntmen apparently expressed their concern about her welfare. “I found them to be extremely friendly and gentle. It was totally unexpected. Soon, we were all laughing and chatting inside the van. It was strange to be sitting and laughing with my kidnappers!"

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It’s a time-loop film, and so, “the same events get repeated over and over again. Save for the songs, I wear the same clothes throughout the film. So, we prepared four replicas of the same salwar- kameez.” It was a far cry from the constant change of costumes she had done in previous films. “It felt like I was wearing a uniform."

The film also has her repeatedly getting shot and killed. “It happens many times in this story. It was quite strange to have to die every day at the shooting, and have fake blood splattered all over me yet again!"

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She remembers enjoying one scene in particular. “It happens just after my character gets shot and has to undergo brain surgery. I was told that all I had to do was close my eyes and rest inside a comfortable blanket on a hospital bed. While everybody around me was toiling on the sets, I went into a deep sleep. Once the shoot got over, someone woke me up and told me to go home! It was the most relaxing shoot ever!"

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