How A Prof Got A Role In Paatal Lok 2!

Dr
Theyie
Keditsu,
who
plays
Grace
Reddy,
was
spotted
at
a
restaurant.
The
next
day
she
was
offered

Paatal
Lok
2.

Never
in
her
wildest
of
dreams
did
Dr

Theyie
Keditsu
ever
think
that
she
would
act,
and
that
too
in
a
blockbuster
show
like

Paatal
Lok
2.

Dr
Keditsu
was
spotted
by
the

Paatal
Lok
2
casting
crew
at
a
restaurant
where
she
was
dining
with
her
husband
and
four
children
in
Kohima.

The
next
day
she
got
the
offer
to
act
in
the
show.

“It
was
just
after
the
pandemic.
And
I
thought,
my
God,
what
have
I
to
lose?
I
spent
two
years,
running
away
from
death
or
the
possibility
of
death
and
life
is
too
short.
Let’s
try
it,”
says
the
professor
who
plays
the
graceful
Grace
Reddy
in
the
series.

A
champion
of
the
traditional
Naga

mekahla
[sarong],
she
has
spent
the
last
few
years
promoting
the
beautiful
garment
and
has
worn
her
own
elegant

mekhalas
and
jackets
in
the
series.

The
show
has
brought
her
many
congratulatory
messages,
especially
from
her
students,
and
friends
who
are
surprised
to
see
her
as
an
actor.

Coming
from
a
family
of
doctors,
the
academic
tells



Rediff.com‘s

Archana
Masih
what
it
meant
to
act
for
a
non-actor,
the
experience
of
working
with
seasoned
professionals
and
some
funny
anecdotes
that
she
carried
back
with
her.

For
someone
who
is
not
an
actor,
but
a
professor
with
a
PhD
and
MPhil
and
far,
far
removed
from
the
world
of
acting,
how
did
this
role
happen?

It
was
just
after
the
pandemic,
and
as
we
all
know
during
Covid
we
were
all
holed
up
at
home.
That
confinement
had
got
to
me.
I
think
there
were
many
of
us
who
wanted
to
get
out,
stretch
and
get
some
space.

I
was
just
very
hungry
to
step
out
of
the
domestic
space.

Secondly,
there
was
a
research
associate
from
Nagaland
who
was
helping
the
production
with
many
aspects
of
the
production.
So
she
was
known
to
me
and
somebody
I
really
respect
and
trust.
It
so
happened
that
I
had
gone
out
for
dinner
with
my
kids
and
husband
and
she
had
come
to
the
same
restaurant
with
a
group
of
people
including
the
showrunner,
director,
casting
director.
They
had
all
come
to
Kohima
for
a
recce
and
to
explore
the
casting.

It
just
so
happened
that
we
were
in
the
same
place
for
a
meal.
I
met
her
and
we
said
hello
and
I
think
at
that
point
she
thought,
oh,
yeah,
maybe
she
could
play
the
part.

The
next
day
she
gave
me
a
call
saying,
I
have
a
very
strange
request,
and
would
you
be
interested
in
just
trying
it
out?
And
I
thought,
my
God,
what
have
I
got
to
lose?
You
know,
I
spent
two
years,
running
away
from
death
or
the
possibility
of
death
and
life
is
too
short.
I
thought,
let’s
try
it.

Was
it
difficult
to
learn
your
lines,
emote
and
act
alongside
actors
and
performers
for
whom
acting
is
a
profession?

They
were
just
wonderful
people.

There
was
a
small
acting
workshop
for
all
of
us
from
Nagaland
which
was
really
fun.

I’ve
taught
theatre
and
acting
because
I
teach
English
literature,
but
this
was
a
workshop
done
by
professionals.

Shashi
Bhushan,
Nitin
N
S
Goel
and
Sawan
Tank
who
took
our
workshop
were
actors
from
Bombay.
They
were
wonderful.
We
had
so
much
fun.

It
was
such
a
positive
workspace.

Everybody
was
kind,
understanding
and
patient.
My
first
day
of
shooting
was
with
Nagesh
Kukunoor
who
plays
my
husband
in
the
show.

And
Nagesh
Kukunoor
is
such
an
experienced
director
and
actor,
isn’t
it?

I’m
a
mad
fan
of
Shah
Rukh
Khan.
I
have
watched
everything
and
anything
under
the
sun
that
has
to
do
with
Shah
Rukh
Khan
from
the
old
movies
to
the
latest.

But
other
than
that
I
don’t
really
watch
so
much
Bollywood
films.
Honestly,
I
hardly
get
enough
time
to
watch
anything
at
all
in
my
line
of
work.
So
I
didn’t
really
know
Nagesh
as
an
actor,
and
he
was
the
most
down
to
earth
person.
He
set
me
at
ease
and
told
me
this
is
what
happens,
this
is
what
happens,
etc
because
he
has
such
a
lot
of
experience
directing.
He
just
put
me
at
rest.

Had
you
watched

Paatal
Lok
season
I?

No.
We
were
encouraged
to
watch
the
first
season,
but
I
just
didn’t
have
the
time.
I
was
the
person
who
hadn’t
done
their
homework
and
just
pretended
I
knew
what
they’re
were
saying.
I
couldn’t
admit
it
because
it
was
too
late
for
me
to
say
‘oh
by
the
way
I
haven’t
watched
it’.
So
I
didn’t
know
the
actors
and
how
great
and
amazing
they
were.

They
had
no
airs
about
themselves.
They
were
just
really
regular,
normal
people
doing
their
job
with
focus
and
dedication.
It
was
such
a
great
experience
to
watch
them.

It
was
only
after
I
finished
shooting
that
I
watched
the
first
season
and
it
was
really
amazing.

What
are
some
of
the
incidents
that
have
stayed
with
you
from
the
shoot?

Two
that
I
can
think
of.
One
is
a
funeral
scene
where
Nagesh
and
I
had
to
lay
wreaths
on
the
tomb
of
the
deceased.
We
were
holding
candles
and
flowers
and
as
we
put
them
on
the
grave,
Nagesh’s
candle
fell
on
the
flowers
which
were
synthetic
and
caught
fire.

But
my
goal
and
purpose
was
to
honour
the
three
gentlemen
who
had
given
us
a
nice
workshop.
I
wanted
to
follow
everything
that
they
had
taught
me
and
be
a
good
student.
They
had
said
no
matter
what,
do
not
break
out
of
character.

So
I
am
standing
there
thinking,
oh
God,
this
is
a
fire
which
is
becoming
big,
very
fast,
and
on
the
other
hand
I’m
also
thinking,
oh,
but
then
they
said,
don’t
break
out
of
character.

I
thought
if
Nagesh
is
not
breaking
out
of
character,
I
will
not
be
the
first
one
to
do
so
and
will
just
wait.
Let
the
whole
jungle
burn,
but
I
will
not
do
this.

[Laughs]

But
finally
somebody
did
say
cut.
And
the
fire
was
put
out.

Second
was
on
the
day
I
had
say
my
first
speaking
lines.
I
had
memorised
my
lines
and
and
was
a
little
nervous.
I
didn’t
eat
that
morning
because
I
had
to
report
very
early.

The
scene
was
where
I
am
having
a
very
serious,
intimate
conversation
with
the
dead
politician’s
wife
in
her
house.
Suddenly
the
sound
technician
came
saying
that
there
was
some
kind
of
sound…
actually,
it
was
my
stomach
rumbling!
But
I
again
thought
that
I
am
not
going
to
be
the
one
to
say
it.

I
thought
I’ve
never
acted
in
my
life
and
I
don’t
think
I
ever
will.
I
had
made
sure
to
memorise
my
lines
and
my
only
standard
for
myself
was
that
I
am
not
going
to
be
the
reason
why
somebody
does
a
retake.

I
just
kept
quiet
and
they
did
another
take.
The
sound
person
said
that
since
it
was
an
old
bungalow
there
must
be
some
mice
in
the
roof
and
actually
sent
some
people
up
to
check
whether
there
was
a

chidiya
or

chuha.

Somehow
we
managed
to
finish
the
shoot.

I
only
had
guts
to
confess
this
on
the
last
day
of
the
last
shoot.
My
last
part
was
with
Nagesh
and
I
told
him
how
foolish
I
had
been
that
day
with
my
stomach
rumbling
and
I
didn’t
realise
that
when
you’re
miked
up
so
is
the
entire
crew
and
everybody
can
hear
you.
So
my
secret
was
out!

One
of
the
crew
members
told
me
we
were
looking
for
mice
in
the
roof
when
they
were
in
your
tummy
and
everybody
knew
who
was
the
cause
of
that
trouble.

How
many
days
did
you
shoot
and
where?

Six
days
in
Darjeeling.

Did
you
get
to
meet
the
lead
actors
Jaideep
Ahlawat
and
Ishwak
Singh?

The
only
person
I
became
a
little
friendly
was
Nagesh
because
our
scenes
were
together.
I
shot
one
scene
with
Jaideep
and
one
with
Ishwak,
but
they
were
very,
very,
quick
scenes.

I
understood
how
much
work
and
labour
goes
into
the
process
of
acting.
I
mean,
for
me
it’s
just
this
one
off
thing
because
I
was
just
one
minor
character.
But
they’re
the
stars.

They
are
carrying
the
show
on
their
shoulders.
They
really
need
to
focus,
to
be
in
character,
so
I
didn’t
want
to
disturb
because
I
realised
they
were
at
work
and
did
not
want
to
interrupt
any
of
their
processes,
etc.

The
entire
story
takes
place
against
the
political
and
social
background
of
Nagaland.
As
somebody
who
belongs
to
Nagaland,
do
you
think
it
was
well
captured?

I
haven’t
watched
the
show
yet,
but
I
did
read
the
script
which
was
given
after
the
workshop.
When
I
read
the
script
I
thought,
wow,
they’ve
cast
really
well
because
I
had
the
opportunity
to
do
the
workshop
with
almost
all
of
the
Naga
actors.

Secondly,
as
somebody
who
teaches
literature
and
media,
I
thought
this
was
such
a
well
written
script.
I
would
have
given
them
full
marks.

It
was
very
nuanced.
The
the
story
isn’t
exactly
about
Nagaland,
Nagaland
is
just
a
metaphor
of
life
in
general.
And
I
thought
this
is
what
it
should
be.

I
did
have
an
opportunity
to
have
maybe
one
or
two
good
conversations
with
Sudip
Sharma

[the
showrunner],
and
the
writing
was
a
process
of
coming
to
terms
with
a
lot
of
his
own
experiences
of
growing
up
in
the
North
East.

It
was
just
a
moment
of
reckoning
with
his
past
and
it
is
such
a
wonderful,
beautiful
reckoning
because
it
tackles
so
many
issues
head
on,
and
comes
to
such
a
cathartic
resolution.

Do
you
think
you’ll
be
getting
more
roles?

No,
I
don’t
think
so.
It
was
good
fun
though.

What
if
you
do?

My
goodness,
I
don’t
know.
We’ll
cross
the
bridge
when
I
get
there.