Mukti Mohan Exclusive: A man in the bus teased me by touching me here and there, I kicked him/her hard

Mukti Mohan has done a variety of work as a dancer, host and actress. She acts in the same rhythm in which she dances. These days she is in the news for her new film ‘A Wedding Story’. Through this film, she is going to make her debut on the big screen as a heroine. A conversation with her. Mukti says about her film, ‘Nowadays people are liking legends, which we call folklore. People are able to connect with such stories. Our story has legend as well as horror and drama. It is based on the Panchak period. My role is also very strong and layered. I really enjoyed playing this role in the horror space.’

Mother and sister taught me that if someone teases you, hit back
Mukti, who grew up in Delhi, has been in the industry for a long time, but being a girl, her family taught her to be strong since childhood. She says, ‘I am from Delhi, so we used to travel by DTC bus. Delhi has not changed in terms of safety of girls from then till today. Every parent tells their daughters to come home before it gets dark. But in my house, my mother and elder sister Neeti (singer Neeti Mohan) have always said that if any boy teases you anywhere, then hit him/her back. Never remain silent. They definitely taught me this big lesson that if someone pulls your hair, scratches or insults you, then definitely reply back.’

“I kicked him/her hard and he/she fell down”
Mukti said, ‘Once I was travelling in Delhi. I was in class 8 at that time. A man touched me here and there and teased me. The bus slowed down at a signal and he/she did this, but where was I going to let him/her go? I kicked him/her hard. he/she slipped and fell down from the bus, then a voice came from behind, very good, he/she teased me too. That was the first time when I felt empowered by responding against atrocities. Even in Mumbai, when I used to go for auditions in Andheri, Malad, Goregaon, Bandra or anywhere and someone stared at me, I would ask directly, what? After my teenage, a hooligan has come inside me about all these things. I do not tolerate rudeness.’

Many of my films were made but not released
The month of August has been quite memorable for Mukti. This month she got three projects. She says, ‘It is true that ‘A Wedding Story’ is my first full-fledged film as a heroine. If this had happened to me a few years ago, my feeling would have been different, but in the past years, I have developed a different kind of understanding of acting and art. This is my debut film, but it had to happen at this time. I believe that an artist is made only by hard work. It has happened to me many times that I became a heroine in many films. The films are ready, but have not been released. But I never got disappointed nor did I give up. I feel that this was meant to happen now.’

‘I have three films releasing this month’
Mukti further says, ‘I consider the last August as a very beautiful phase of my life. I had three releases in this month. First Gyaar Gyaar, then Life Hil Gai and by the end of the month, my film A Wedding Story. I am very happy. Even my small role in ‘Gyaar Gyaar’ got a lot of praise. Our director Umesh Bisht ji said that he/she had never glorified anyone’s death so much. In that series, I get murdered by a psycho killer after a dance sequence.’

I consider last August to be a very beautiful period of my life

Mukti Mohan

My father showed me the way in my days of despair
Mukti is a versatile actress. Apart from being an actress, she is also an accomplished dancer. When asked what she enjoys the most, she says, “I enjoy everything. I enjoy dancing as much as I enjoy acting. I do my work with full rhythm and heart.” Sharing one of her experiences, she says.

‘I was giving auditions during that period, but nothing was working’She further says, ‘It was the year 2018. I had prepared for a play with full hard work for three months. You all know that you don’t get paid for plays and the worst thing was that I lost that play too. During that period, I was giving a lot of auditions, but nothing was working out. I was just about to drown in despair when my father said to me, do you want to tell a story? Do you want to do a play? I said, yes, then he/she said, this is my poem. Navratri is being organized in the society downstairs. Go down and teach the children by giving this poem the form of a story and connect them. Let’s see how much play you can do. I accepted this challenge and gathered 22 children from the society and prepared the play with a month’s rehearsal. We performed this play at Prithvi Theater and Kuku Club. That’s it, at that time I was successful in my eyes.’