Shweta Basu Prasad meets sex workers to prepare for Madhur Bhandarkar's India Lockdown

Shweta Basu Prasad, who plays a sex worker in Madhur Bhandarkar’s upcoming film India Lockdown, visited Mumbai's red-light district along with the director in order to prepare for her character.

India Lockdown looks at how the COVID-19 lockdown impacted various businesses in the country, including that of the sex workers. 

Shweta said in a statement that she believes that the characters she plays are real and she likes to dive deep into them. "Unless I do that, the audience will not engage with the character. I also work extensively to write a backstory for them and be a part of the tech recce. In this case, I’m playing Mehrunissa, a sex worker.

“Sir felt that my language was too polished for the part, so the idea was to understand how much I have to change my language and get comfortable with their other nuances. He wanted me to meet the women to understand how they think,” she said. 

She added, “They had such overwhelming stories about their lives, the way the lockdown impacted them and their business. It was an experience of a lifetime to just get a first-hand insight into their living conditions and their houses. It all helped me write a backstory.” 

The actress said that she was apprehensive but not because she had to meet them. “The only apprehension was to not say something inappropriate or ask questions that may make them feel uncomfortable. I didn’t want to cross that line. The women were generous to open up about their life stories, they helped us in our narrative. As an artiste, this is one of those precious times in life when one gets to push the envelope,” she said. 

There was a pleasant surprise in store for Prasad. “And guess what? I did meet a Mehrunissa there. My character is dedicated to her; she’s just like the character I am playing.”

Shweta also took a cue from old Hindi films where actresses successfully played sex workers. “With Madhur sir on my side, I am certain we will sail through. Besides, I’ve also seen Tabu in Chandni Bar (2001), Kareena Kapoor Khan in Chameli (2004), Konkona Sensharma in Traffic Signal (2007), and Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi in Mandi (1983). And now, it’s my turn to bring the sex workers' heartbreakingly beautiful stories on to the big screen,” she said. 

India Lockdown also stars Sai Tamhankar, Prateik Babbar, Aahana Kumra, Prakash Belawadi and Zarin Shihab.