In a career that has spanned two decades, Soha Ali Khan has never played the antagonist. Perhaps that is what excited her the most to take up the role in her next – Chhorii 2. The horror thriller sees the actor in a never-seen-before avatar. In a conversation with HT ahead of the film’s release, Soha opens up on playing an ‘evil’ character for the first time.
Soha Ali Khan on going evil for Chhorii 2
When asked how ‘delicious’ it was as an actor to play a negative role in a horror film, Soha says, “I have been offered very dignified roles in the past, very vanilla and girl-next-door. Dasi maa (her character in Chhorii 2) is far from that and very out of my comfort zone, physically and emotionally.”
We joke that of late, Soha only does work that her daughter, Inaaya, cannot watch for years to come, and she laughs. “She is so scared of watching any kind of conflict. She is 7, and right now, she won’t even watch Moana. Not because of the lava monster part but due to the father getting angry with the daughter,” says Soha with a laugh. But she adds that she has talked about her role in Chhorii 2 with her. “I have told her I’m playing an evil character. She understands the concept of evil. She was very intrigued as to whether I stay evil or if there is redemption. ‘Do you become good?’ is what she asked me,” she tells us.
Soha Ali Khan on her evil getup
But Soha says that the issue in doing Chhorii 2 was not that Inaaya couldn’t watch it but that it affected their bedtime routine. She explains, “We were shooting in an evil look for long hours, and I couldn’t be there for bedtime. Normally, when I’m not there for bedtime, I FaceTime here. This time, I did not want to. She would, and I would disconnect and do an audio call. I said, ‘Trust me, you don’t want to see me like this at bedtime’.” But what’s more, even her husband, actor Kunal Kemmu stayed ‘away’ when Soha was in her getup. “Neither did Kunal want to talk to me. I said, you can answer my call. He said, ‘No, talk to me after two months’,” says Soha.
Chhorii 2, a sequel to the 2021 critically-acclaimed release Chhorii, is directed by Vishal Furia. It brings back Nushrratt Bharuccha as the lead character from the first film. The film releases on Amazon Prime Video on April 11.
