Mumbai: Jahnvi Kapoor said playing a character who is trapped in a freezer for hours for almost a month in her upcoming film 'Mili' took a toll not only on her body but also her mind.
Based on true events, the survival drama follows Mili Naudiyal, played by Jahnvi, a nursing graduate who races against time to stay alive after she is stuck in a freezer.
The process of shooting the Mathukutty Xavier directorial was so gruelling that she would have nightmares of being shut in a cold, dark space.
"I remember the film taking a genuine toll on my mental health because I would come back home after wrapping up the shoot and I would go to sleep and dream that I was still in the freezer. I fell ill and I was on severe painkillers for two-three days and even the director was unwell. If you spend 15 hours of your day in a freezer in a closed environment crying for the majority of the day, sometimes with a rat that keeps nibbling your fingers, it's not glamorous for sure," Janhvi told the top news agency.
She shot for 'Mili', the Hindi remake of Xavier's 2019 Malayalam hit 'Helen', inside a freezer that was built by the film's team for 20 days at a minus 15-degree temperature.
Besides, the 'Good Luck Jerry' star said she was required to gain 7.5 kg for the role as the director wanted her character to appear more relatable to the audience.
"Sometimes pushing yourself that much emotionally in front of a camera for a film liberates you as an actor and it did that for me. You feel so naked, bare and exposed in such extreme conditions as you are so vulnerable in front of the camera. One of the things that I needed to do as an artist was to open up completely and this character allowed me to do that," Janhvi added.
Speaking of survival in the film industry, the 25-year-old actor, who is the daughter of cinema icon Sridevi and film producer Boney Kapoor, said her late mother taught her to work endlessly to last longer.
"What I learnt about survival from my mom, from this film and my limited experience in this field, is that it is all about your work, work ethic and the intention with which you work. If you set your mind to something and work tirelessly towards it, it has to happen for you," she said.