EXCLUSIVE: Renuka Shahane on '3 Storeys': I would give anything to play my character

Renuka Shahane has been gone from the screen for a while and we couldn't be gladder that she's back! Recently, we got a chance to sit down with the actress and it was all things pleasant to talk to the talented entertainer. Renuka, who plays Aunty Flory in '3 Storeys' has undergone a drastic transformation to perfect her role and when we asked her what made her sign on the film, she said, "The fact that they were stories about real people. It was very easy to identify with the characters. There was a lot of intrigue. It’s was not like a straight-laced sort of formula film, not run of the mill at all. So, all these factors and of course and my role was so exceptional in it that I would give anything to play my character."

Talking about playing the challenging role, she said, "It was definitely challenging because it’s just something totally different from my milieu. She is a Goan Christian. People from another religion than yours have a certain way of being. We take certain ways of being for granted which we realise when we are playing somebody from another religion. So, all the gestures…every single thing had to be worked out so it looks different from what I am as a person. And of course, the get up used to take time. For me to get into it and of it because there was a lot of prosthetic makeup. But, it was challenging in a brilliant way!"

Agreeing that this film could be deemed her 'comeback' film, Renuka even opened up about whose biopic she would like to play in the future. "Savitribai Phule. She is the person because of whom all of us are educated. She was the first person who started a girl’s school and her husband and her life is so amazing and inspirational. And again, she comes from a different background so as an actor again, it would be very exciting to play her because she’s so tally different and exciting to work on."

The actress considers herself to be a vocal feminist and on her hard-hitting social media posts, she also receives much flak. Talking about this, she said, "I read each and everything they say on my posts. If I have to block or report somebody, I should know what that person is saying. Also, I am not putting it out for the heck of it. It is something I truly believe in. And if there are other people who are misreading it, then I need to know whether they need to be told what I have to say. These days there are so many manufactured and political trolls and a lot of the trolling that happens with me is by political trolls. So, they are paid for it and are doing their job so I don’t take them very seriously now. Earlier on I did not know that trolling happened so rampantly. Now I know so, I don’t really take that to heart." She also added that she thinks people are concentrating on the wrong things these days. "Our Army officers are day in and day out martyring themselves at the border and yet we have time to squabble about such mundane things. And we have a great constitution. Why aren’t we just following it? This whole ‘Padmaavat’ thing was so ridiculous and I feel that if people have so much time and energy then Army mein bharti ho jao (Join the Army/Defence services for the progress of the nation)," she added.

The actress will also be seen sharing screen space with Madhuri Dixit Nene in the Marathi film, 'Bucket List' soon.