Exclusive: She Is So Broken: Radhikka Madan on The Vulnerable Core of Her Character in Subedaar

Radhikka Madan steps into a ferocious character in Anil Kapoor’s action-drama Subedaar. Fierce, volatile, and emotionally layered, Madan’s character Shyama is not just a presence in Arjun Maurya’s (Anil Kapoor) world, she is a force that challenges it. Beneath the hardened exterior lies a woman shaped by survival, carrying wounds that run far deeper than they appear.

Recalling why she agreed to the film during the narration itself, Radhikka Madan said, “This is the first film, jahan par maine narration mein hi, I said yes. (This is the first film where I have said yes during narration.) Subedaar was one thing that was being offered to me for a long time. When Suresh Sir narrated it to me, in the narration only, I said yes. The way he (Suresh Triveni) narrated it, the soul of the story is something that really pulled me. People have offered me characters which are physically strong, jahan pe thoda action hota hai, yeh hota hai, woh hota hai, jo bahar se bohot strong dikhti hai (where there is some action, this happens, that happens, the character looks very strong from outside), but I think the core of Shyama is so vulnerable. She is so soft inside. That layer really excited me because she’s so broken. Everything else is a facade.

Radhikka Madan

Speaking about the vulnerability behind Shyama’s strength, the actress added, “Her strength is a facade. Her survival is a facade. There’s a reason why she’s not soft in the world because her survival instinct is really, really high. She doesn’t feel safe anywhere. And she keeps running from things. So I think those layers really excited me and made me say yes to the character.

Subedaar is directed by Suresh Triveni, and is produced by Vikram Malhotra, Anil Kapoor, and Triveni. It stars Anil Kapoor, Radhikka Madan, Saurabh Shukla, Aditya Rawal, Faisal Malik, Mona Singh and Khushboo Sundar. Subedaar is now streaming on Prime Video.

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