Abigail Pande opens up about being part of Dhappa

“The response I am getting for Dhappa has been really, really good. Like, it makes me happy to know that people like seeing Sanam and me together, be it acting or dancing. I think the response I got is totally justified considering all the hard work that we have put into this. It's been really great,” she says, adding, “I think before I was convinced, Anil V Kumar was convinced that I have to do this role and he was so confident that this part was made for me. I guess that gave me confidence. Very honestly, if I have to point at one thing, there's no one particular characteristic that made me relate to the character. But I think the situation, reactions and assumptions are something that I can relate with very well.”

She says that the audience is really connecting to her character. “I think everyone in their lives has experienced a Dhappa moment where you have been caught off guard and an unexpected emergency situation arises. I think people will really like this because it's short and crisp and the character is really goofy. She is really funny and at the same time very overreactive. So, I think they will connect to the character in terms of how everyone has faced the situation, where they have to do some jugaad and somehow the situation settles. So, I think people will probably connect with that aspect of it,” she says.

Talking about working with director-producer Anil V Kumar, Abigail says, “Anil sir and I have known each other for years now. We were both working for Balaji at one point and I heard such great things about him. I had met him in person a lot of times but we never really got to work with each other till quite recently. And this is my second acting job with him and he is obviously phenomenal with his work. He is so good with his narration. He is so sure about what you have to do and gives you the liberty as an artist to take a call on what you want to do and how you want to do it. I think it's a perfect balance. A director should always know what he wants and at the same time give an artist the liberty to bring an element of themselves into that character which Anil sir does so well. He has always been an amazing director and he, being the producer now as well, makes me feel very honoured.”

She adds, “He has been connected as a director to the unit because he has worked with the crew and cast for so many different shows for the past, I don't know how many years. So, he really knows how to take care of his people and everyone who is involved in working with him for the shows he does. So, everyone feels well taken care of. Be it small things like finding out whether everyone on set has eaten food or everyone has rested well. He really makes that effort to step in and personally look after his people. I really admire that about him.”