Rahul Ravindran's directorial film 'The Girlfriend', starring Rashmika Mandanna, continues to spark conversations even after its digital release on Netflix. The film, which hit theatres last month, has now found a wider audience online. In a recent revelation, the director opened up about the most emotionally taxing moment during the shoot, a scene so intense it left both the filmmaker and his lead actress deeply affected.
The 'Gut-Wrenching' Door Sequence
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, Rahul Ravindran identified the pivotal 'door sequence' as the toughest scene to film. He described the experience as profoundly difficult for both himself and Rashmika Mandanna. Ravindran shared that this scene was not just a scripted moment but the very seed from which the film grew, inspired by an incident from his own life.
"The toughest scene, which was pretty gut-wrenching for both Rashmika and me, was the door sequence. That was the seed of the film. It was something I had seen in my own life," the director confessed.
Rashmika Mandanna's Deep Dive into Personal Trauma
To extract a raw and authentic performance, Ravindran took an unconventional approach. He instructed Mandanna to abandon her character, Bhooma, and instead tap into her own personal reservoir of pain. He urged her to recall every instance of hurt or abuse she had ever endured, even from strangers, and to shed any protective layer of optimism.
"For this one scene, I told her I’m not going to ask you to think like Bhooma, I’m going to ask you to think like Rashmika," he explained. "I asked her to remember every single time someone’s abused you, even random strangers coming and throwing abuses at you. I told her to set that aside, take all that in and let it come out."
The scene in question portrays Rashmika's character, Bhooma—a sincere literature postgraduate student in Hyderabad—discovering her dorm room door vandalized with abusive words. The aftermath of filming was powerful. Ravindran found Mandanna completely overwhelmed, sobbing uncontrollably for nearly 20 minutes as years of buried emotions surfaced.
About 'The Girlfriend' and Its Success
'The Girlfriend' is currently available for streaming on Netflix in multiple languages. The film features an ensemble cast including Dheekshith Shetty, Rao Ramesh, Rohini, and Anu Emmanuel, with music composed by Hesham Abdul Wahab. The narrative follows Bhooma's journey as she falls for Vikram (Shetty), a romance that gradually turns toxic.
The film has performed commendably at the box office, collecting over Rs 29.22 crore worldwide according to Sacnilk. Its move to digital platforms has ensured the story reaches a global audience, keeping the dialogue around its themes alive and relevant.
