It might seem a little far-fetched, but one could reasonably argue that actress Monika Panwar, who already delivered a spine-chilling performance earlier this year in the breakout horror series Khauf, has once again outdone herself with a spellbinding turn that arguably ranks among the finest performances of the year in Anurag Kashyap’s Nishaanchi. Panwar portrays Manjari, a maternal figure inspired by the nurturing yet tragic grace of Nutan, an undeniably inspired piece of casting. At just 31, Panwar embodies a character whose journey spans from her early twenties to her mid-fifties, a demanding transformation few could attempt with such conviction. When asked about her reaction upon receiving a call from Kashyap himself, she recalled: "I think I was the last one to get cast, everyone else had already come on board. It was just about a month before the shoot when I got a call from AK sir (Anurag Kashyap). He told me he was doing this film called Nishaanchi and wanted me to play a character who ages from her early 20s to late 50s. I immediately said yes, of course, why not!" She also added that there were initial doubts within the production house about whether she could convincingly handle such drastic age transitions: "Sir was always convinced that I would be able to pull it off, but the people at Amazon were a bit sceptical. They wanted me to give a screen test to see how I would handle the different age groups. So, we did three screen tests with full prosthetics and makeup, and after that, they were fully convinced." In an industry that is quick to chase trends and even quicker to typecast, often a by-product of limited imagination, it took considerable courage on Panwar’s part, who has only recently begun her career, to take such a bold leap and play the mother of debutant Aaishvary Thackeray, an actor nearly her own age. "I had never met Aaishvary before, so I didn’t know what he looked like. When I finally met him, I was a bit concerned because there isn’t much of an age gap between us. Even our physical builds, in terms of height and all, are quite similar. So, it was a real challenge to make people believe us as mother and son." She added that the sheer hunger to take on a more substantial role far outweighed any apprehensions: "There were also concerns about whether playing a mother so early in my career would lead to typecasting. But above all, I’m just very hungry to do parts like these. You rarely get such meaty, layered roles, and even fewer chances to experiment. And here I was getting a chance to experiment with someone like AK sir whom I trust completely. I’ve said this very bluntly before: if it wasn’t for AK sir, I wouldn’t have done it." Panwar said it was only much later that she realized she might be typecast if people connected too strongly with this performance: "When I said yes to the role, I wasn’t thinking about getting typecast. I was completely focused on the experiment itself. It’s only once the film is done and close to release that those thoughts start to creep in. Even now, if people say, 'We can’t see you as a mother,' or anything negative, I wouldn’t pay any attention to it." Responding to some critics who found it difficult to believe her as a mother, she said: "I’ll never regret doing this film. Very few people imagine you in characters like these, and it truly satisfied my hunger as an actor, that’s enough for me, for now." Speaking about the casting process, she also revealed that actress Raveena Tandon was supposedly the first choice for the role: "I’m not completely sure about this, but I heard from people that they were initially considering Raveena Tandon for the part. However, AK sir wasn’t fully on board with that idea because my character spans various ages in the film. If it were only the older portions, say, the 50s age bracket — he might have gone with her. But since a large part of the film is set in flashbacks where I play someone in her 20s, his concern was how to make an older actor look convincingly young. That would have meant relying heavily on VFX, which would have inflated the budget. So perhaps that’s why he chose me, similar to how he cast Richa Chadha in Gangs of Wasseypur." Also Read | In Nishaanchi, Mehboob Khan meets Yash Chopra, as Anurag Kashyap takes a detour into melodrama Kashyap, known for his highly unorthodox method of directing actors, often refusing to give them complete scripts, followed a similar approach with Panwar, who initially found it somewhat challenging to adapt to his process: "Yeah, with AK sir, there’s hardly ever a fixed script. Aaishvary and Vedika were involved from the very beginning, so they knew the larger story and their character arcs. But for me, it wasn’t like that. He doesn’t tell you the full story. So whether it was me, or Kumud (Mishra) sir, or Zeeshan Ayub, we were only told what we needed to know for each scene. So, with every scene, we were slowly discovering the story ourselves." She explained how the experience kept her constantly alert, especially since she comes from a very different school of thought: "I’m someone who likes to prepare a lot; I don’t just go with the flow or rely entirely on improvisation. So my foundation was actually the screen test I did, because in that, I had already played three different age groups. That helped me understand the broader arc of my character. After that, whenever I was on set, I would simply ask, 'What’s my age here?' and play according to that, because that’s all the information we had to go on." While the film may have received a lukewarm response from audiences, its sequel is already complete, fully shot and edited, and, to fans’ delight, promises an even more expansive role for Panwar’s character, who is, after all, the true nishaanchi of the narrative. Describing what audiences can expect from Part 2, she revealed: "It’s very generous of people to appreciate the performances in Part 1, but honestly speaking, it’s Part 2 where the major chunk of the story lies. I’m really excited to see how people respond to it because my character carries much of the story and the emotional gravitas there."
