Kangana is a natural, says Megha Burman

Having worked only in South Indian films before, the actress made her Bollywood debut as Kangana Ranaut’s roommate in ‘Panga’

Megha Burman has been working in film industries since 2003, but it took her 17 years to feel like she’s finally home.

Having worked in several South Indian films, ‘Oru Modhal Oru Kadhal’ in Tamil being her latest, she finally made her Bollywood debut in ‘Panga’ as Kangana Ranaut’s roommate.

Since the movie was released last week, Megha feels that her hustle has paid off and it’s going to be different from now on.

She tells Showtime how she bagged the role of Nisha: “As usual, I was called into audition for a role. They needed somebody who could play Kabbadi, and lucky for me, I knew the basics as I’ve played it in school. I went and gave my audition and didn’t hear back from them for months. I was devastated because I went completely prepared; I even wore the uniform for the audition,” Megha recalls.

“When I finally got a call back, I was told to come in for a three-day kabaddi training. I thought I didn’t do alright and the next thing I know, I was called in for the script reading with the whole crew. I remember seeing my name watermarked on the script and Richa (Chadda) was sitting next to me. I had to ask her if this meant that I finally got the part. It was unbelievable,” the actress adds.

It was always her dream to work in a female-directed film, a women-sports story and with a strong cast. With ‘Panga’, she checked all those boxes.
Megha says, “It was absolutely unbelievable. I never imagined that I would make a debut like that and have all my wishes come true in one go. This gives me hope that I have a long way to go.”

As the movie is a story about the comeback of a national level Kabbadi player from India, there was a lot of training Megha had to go through before the shoot began.

She recalls how her life revolved around gym, Kabbadi practises and more gym time. “In between, I may have to take a few meetings here and there but since we began working on ‘Panga’ in 2018, for several months, this was my life.”

The actress hasn’t let the success of the film get to her head. She still continues to audition for roles and looks forward to working more.

As for working with A-listers Kangana Ranaut and Richa Chadda, Megha was awe-struck every time she saw them perform.

“Richa is spontaneous and she improvises her lines a lot. It’s a bit challenging to keep up with her but it’s a lot of fun working with her,” she says.

“As for Kangana, she’s a natural. She comes to the sets prepared. She knows which camera to look at, the angle the director wants and her lines too. She usually needs only one take and we have a perfect shot. I didn’t know how I could keep up with her. It was nerve-wracking,” adds Megha.

Having said that, the actress is thankful for the opportunity she received.

She says, “It’s easier to work in Mumbai as I was born and brought up here. When I was working in South Indian films, I always stayed in hotels and didn’t have anyone I knew with me. Working in Bollywood feels like home.”