Mumbai: Lara Dutta is playing Indira Gandhi in BellBottom and how! She’s unrecognisable. The revelation that she is the face behind the makeup took everyone by surprise after the trailer was released.
Akshay Kumar who plays the lead in the film treated fans to a behind-the-scenes video of Lara Dutta transforming into late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In his post, Akshay was also full of praise for her performance, saying that she had ‘nailed’ it.
BellBottom seems to be as much an Akshay Kumar film as Lara Dutta’s.
In the time-lapse video, Lara is surrounded by a bevy of make-up artists, as she gets ready to take on the mantle of Indira Gandhi. She tries on the prosthetic nose and the slightly dyed hair, and thanks the artists saying, “All the people responsible for this happening, and I’m only able to bring a character to life if I’m able to get into the skin of it.”
Akshay captioned the video, “What bringing a character to life looks like…@larabhupathi you’ve nailed it and how in #BellBottom Catch it on the big screen, also in 3D, on 19th August.” Lara Dutta responded to the post and thanked Akshay for his support. “Thank you Akki for the never ending support and encouragement!! I would never have been able to pull this off if it wasn’t in your faith in me to be able to do so (sic).”
Lara also shared the same video on her official Instagram handle. “Never had I imagined portraying a personality this pivotal & when I saw how this transformation translated on the screen, everything felt surreal & worth it. Can’t wait for y’all to watch my performance in #BellBottom on the big screen in 3D on 19th Aug (sic),” she captioned the post.
At the trailer launch of BellBottom on Wednesday, she spoke about how she approached the role of Indira Gandhi. “Okay, so you did see me in the trailer. I’m playing Mrs Indira Gandhi in the film. That’s me. All it took was a call and they said that Lara this film is being made and we are casting for Indira Gandhi’s role. That is all it took, before I even heard the script. But yes, of course, there is a great responsibility when you’re portraying somebody who is an iconic figure like her,” she said.
BellBottom, stars Akshay Kumar, Lara Dutta and Huma Qureshi, Vaani Kapoor and is slated for an August 19 theatrical release.