“The director locked me up in a small, dark room...”

Ashna Habib Bhabna, the fast-rising model-actress will be seen donning her first ever lead role on the big screen when Animesh Aich-directed “Bhoyongkor Sundor” lands in theatres tomorrow. Bhabna will be seen alongside popular Indian actor Parambrata Chatterjee in the psychological thriller. The Daily Star caught up with Bhabna to shed light on her experiences during the making of the movie. Excerpts:

“I play a character named Nayantara, a naive and short-tempered girl with whom I bear very little resemblance in real life. But over the course of filming I found myself delving deeper and deeper into her role. In the one and half years it took to complete the film, I could not turn my attention to any other ventures. Pre-production took up eight months alone, and I was involved every step of the way.”

“It took a lot of preparation to become Nayantara, a process that I began long before filming commenced. Not only was this my first movie role, but I play the lead, which doubled the challenge. 'Bhoyongkor Sundor' is a film that hinges entirely on the development of the female lead and I took that very seriously.”

“I await the film's release much like a nervous student does before her exam results. The success of any film depends on the audience, and so we will have to wait and see if our efforts were good enough. There is also a slight, bittersweet sense of loss, as the character of Nayantara was mine to keep for as long as I nurtured her, but after the film's release, she will belong to the world.”

“At the end of it all, I am left with many fond memories that were made during filming. One time, before shooting a scene, the director locked me up in a small, dark room and left me there. His actions bewildered and angered me, and the temperature made me sweat profusely. Thirty minutes later, he finally unlocked the door and led me in front of the camera and began filming right away. The trauma of the incident was crucial to the scene, as the feelings I conveyed were pure and raw. That has to be one of my favourite scenes in the film.”