Conscious decision to avoid violence & gore in 'Mrs Deshpande': Madhuri Dixit

Conscious decision to avoid violence & gore in 'Mrs Deshpande': Madhuri Dixit

Mumbai, Set to play a serial killer in the upcoming web series "Mrs Deshpande", actor Madhuri Dixit says she is aware of her responsibility as an artist and has deliberately chosen to prioritise emotional depth over graphic depictions of violence and gore.

Conscious decision to avoid violence & gore in 'Mrs Deshpande': Madhuri Dixit

Helmed by Nagesh Kukunoor, the show follows an imprisoned female serial killer who is approached by the police after a string of murders mirrors her trademark style.

The six-episode psychological thriller features Dixit in a raw, de-glam and deeply unsettling avatar, a striking departure from her glamorous image in films like “Hum Aapke Hain Koun”, “Dil Toh Pagal Hai”, “Devdas”, “Total Dhamaal”, among others.

“The responsibility is always there. But we are actors, we play different kind of roles and we cannot be responsible for everything. As a director, he was very clear that it's not the violence that we're talking about, it's not the killings, it's the emotion, it's not like gore and all.

"It's the story, it's her character, it's the revelations and what's happened with her, those are the important part of the story. So, when people watch the series, they'll realise that it's not about just that . We were never going for shock value,” the actor told PTI in an interview.

Kukunoor echoes her sentiments and said that the series, which will be out on JioHotstar on December 19, crafts a thrilling narrative that has unexpected twists.

“It was a very, very conscious choice to make sure that we kept the drama and the twists and the relationships working as opposed to the gore and the violence to take center stage,” the director said.

When approached for the role of a serial killer, Dixit admits she was initially taken aback but quickly recognised that the story delves far beyond the surface.

“For a second, I was like, me, serial killer? But it's not about just being a serial killer, it's about her story, it's about who she is, the layers 'Mrs Deshpande' has; she's seemingly just an ordinary housewife but there's so much more to her than that. It's not just about the killing but it's more of the emotion, and that's what I liked about the character,” she said.

The show marks her maiden collaboration with Kukunoor, the filmmaker behind "Dor”, “Khanak”, and “City of Dreams".

Dixit said she had admired his storytelling for a long.

“With Nagesh being the director and Applause being the producers, I had faith in them that they would make it, relatable, something that people can watch and make the character believable, it won't be like outlandish or what's going on, and put it in an Indian context and especially for the woman because I don't think we have had any serial killer on screen, not in the Indian space,” she said.

The 58-year-old actor said even her children were surprised by this daring turn in her career, while her husband was curious to see how she would approach the role.

“He wanted to get into the nitty-gritty of it, and was like, more power if you can play something like this,” she said.

“Mrs Deshpande” is the Hindi adaptation of the 2017 French show, “La Mante”.

Kukunoor described the original series as “serious and brooding”, whereas he has balanced the Hindi version with darker elements and liveliness, and infused it with some “Indianness”.

“We a lot to make it work in the Indian environment. I know I was tackling the subject of a serial killer, and serial killers do exist in India as well, but when you're presenting it as a thriller with twists and turns as opposed to a docudrama, I had to make it accessible, and at the same time make it real and not just completely make it western,” he said.

“Adapting a French show into an Indian context just doesn't mean taking the plot, it's really driving home the Indian-ness, and making it real and acceptable to an audience,” the director added.

According to Kukunoor, one of the biggest challenges of the adaptation was crafting Mrs Deshpande as a character entirely distinct from Madhuri Dixit’s glamorous public image.

One of the most challenging aspects of this adaptation, according to Kukunoor, was shaping "Mrs Deshpande" as a distinct character separate from the glamorous persona of Dixit herself.

“The one that I worked hardest at was to remove MD out , because she, as a person, she's very free. I wanted 'Mrs Deshpande' to be someone who controlled the space around her.

"When people speak less, they look a lot, they automatically control the room, and I wanted 'Mrs Deshpande' to do that. I wanted to see in my head, less of Madhuri, and wanted this quiet, strong character to emerge,” he said, adding he aimed to strip away the glamour, portraying the actor in a severe light that would allow this complex character to emerge authentically.

The show is produced by Applause Entertainment in association with Kukunoor Movies.

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