Exclusive – The Door actress Navina Bole on the 8-hour shift debate and facing casting couch: ‘I was asked to strip down’

Excerpts from the exclusive conversation:

Ques: How is The Door different from other thrillers currently streaming on Indian OTT platforms?

Navina Bole: I think the whole concept of ‘The Door’, really arouses interest in people as to what's going on behind the door. Why is it called ‘The Door’? What is the mystery of the door, and the way it has been treated, the way it has been shot with the whole eeriness? There's a certain mood that you will see throughout the show, and that's again, there's an eerie of mystery. It's a very brownish kind of, for want of any other description, it's a very sombre kind of tone. I think all of this, when you combine it, makes for a very interesting watch.

Ques: Were there any intense or technically challenging scenes during the show that actually tested your limits?

Navina: For me, there was a scene where my co-actor goes through a miscarriage. And there's a lot of blood and that scene was disturbing to witness, especially if you're a mother yourself.

That kind of took a toll on me. And as far as me performing the scenes was concerned, there wasn't anything that was very out of the box as an actor that I had. It was all in my comfort level, except probably the part in the end where I, there's a whole revelation and whatever she had to go through, that was a little difficult.

Because I had to channel a lot of inner turmoil to get that character's distress out there.

Ques: There’s been an ongoing discussion in the entertainment industry about implementing an 8-hour workday for the moms. As a mother and someone who has worked extensively in TV, what’s your take on this?

Navina: I love it. Actually, not just for mothers, I think there should be eight-hour shifts for everybody because I think after about 10 or 11 hours of shooting, mentally, physically, you're just not in your prime anymore. As human beings, after a certain time, we all start to get exhausted, and we also need time for other things. We need time for sleep, to eat. So, I think an eight-hour working day, it's a dream, but if not that, at least 10 hours, I think would be very welcome.

Ques: Recently, you revealed an uncomfortable experience about being asked by a renowned director to remove clothes at a meeting. That took courage. What gave you the strength to speak out, and how have you dealt with the aftermath?

Navina: The fact that I am not lying and it's an absolutely honest experience just gives me the strength to say it. I did not go out looking for attention or going and calling a whole press conference to say this.

I was asked a question about a casting couch, and I very honestly replied to it. It was that simple for me, this is what happened in my career.

It was like talking about getting a project or working on a project. So, this is also something that happened to me in the course of me going for an audition. It's something that made me very uncomfortable and, something that I had to face with a lot of courage.

And it took me some time and some effort to get over the ugliness of it. The intention wasn't to malign anybody or to get attention or anything.

The intention was just to share an experience that happened with me and to make people aware that this happened and you shouldn't let it get you down and you should rise above it and be aware.

The aftermath was that there were people who supported me, but there were a lot of people who trolled me and who said, oh, she needs to get attention and why didn't you speak up earlier and whatever.

Firstly, it's my life, it's my experience. I can talk about it whenever I want to talk about it. And secondly, when I was asked a question, that's when I decided to answer it.

I was never asked about casting couch before this. So, when I was asked that, yes, I did experience something similar, which made me very uncomfortable. I was asked to strip down to my lingerie just to show how comfortable I am with my body, with nobody else.

So, yeah, that happened with me. And it is something that I shared when I was asked about my experience, because otherwise, that's what it's been, a very smooth sailing experience for me, where I've only worked very, very professionally with very, very professional people.

Ques: Miley Jab Hum Tum has a cult following even today. How did you land the role of Diya, and what was your first impression of the character when you read the script?

Navina: Mile Jab Hum Tum was essentially my first mainstream show. Before that, I had done television. I had done a show called Sola Sigaar on Sahara TV. But that was a three-month camp. That was with Karan Singh. But after that, I did a lot of music videos and a lot of ads.

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In one music video, I had shot for DJ Taral, where the production, the EP was Neeraj, who was also the main creative on this show. And he said that, I remember you from there, and we want a look like yours for the show that we are coming up with on Star One. And then I think, you know, things just took off from there.

I spoke to the channel, and I had put on a little weight at that time, I remember. So they said, she's the hottest girl in college. So she needs to look a certain way.

I remember the first look test, and then I lost about six kgs after a month. And we went for the second look test, and that's when they were really happy. And yeah, things just took off. I think I was just born to play Diya in Mile Jab Hum Tum.