Lara Dutta recalls playing Indira Gandhi in 'Bell Bottom'

Bollywood actress Lara Dutta, who plays the role of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in Akshay Kumar-starrer 'Bell Bottom', recalls her experience of working in the movie which has its world TV premiere on December 26.

She says bringing the character on-screen was challenging and full of responsibility.

Lara says: "Working on 'Bell Bottom' was a challenging yet fulfilling experience. It was a huge responsibility to do justice to the role of Indira Gandhi ji and make it convincing to the audience. Ranjit Tiwari and I sat for hours and saw Mrs Gandhi's footage to get the nuances right. My father was her pilot so I grew up listening to her stories and how she spoke to everyone so that helped as well. And when I saw myself on screen, and the reactions that followed, it was all worth it."

Directed by Ranjit Tiwari, the film stars Akshay Kumar playing the role of Anshul Malhotra whose life takes an important turn as he joins RAW and embarks on his very first mission as 'Agent Bell Bottom'. It also features Huma Qureshi as RAW personnel and Vaani Kapoor as Anshul's wife Radhika.

The actress adds: "When Akshay first called me for the film during the pandemic and spoke about the character of Mrs Gandhi, I almost thought it was a joke because the entire industry was shut down and we didn't know how we would film. But taking up this part was a no-brainer. I wanted to do something different, and to portray Mrs Gandhi was an opportunity of a lifetime and a moment I will cherish forever.

"This is my 13th film with Akshay Kumar in my 18-year career so that made it even more special.

We all quarantined together for 14 days before the shoot began so it was like a mini holiday, and the on-screen rapport between us worked so well because we got to spend so much time with each other even before the shoot began."