'Stree' clocks 3 years: Abhishek Banerjee calls Jaana 'a version of my childhood'

Abhishek Banerjee talked about playing the role of Jaana, Rajkummar Rao's best friend who gets possessed by the ghost, in Amar Kaushik's horror-comedy Stree. Changing the face of horror comedies in Bollywood, the 'satirical black comedy' received critical acclaim for subtly covering the taboo subjects of violence against women. Featuring Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana and Abhishek Banerjee, the movie clocked in 3 years on August 31. 

Abhishek Banerjee on playing 'Jaana' in Stree

In an exclusive chat with Republic World, the 36-year-old actor dished on his character Jaana on the occasion of the third year anniversary of Stree. Essaying the role of Jaana, Vicky (Rajkummar Rao) and Bittu's (Aparshakti Khurana) friend who gets possessed by the ghost, the actor received heaps of praises for his performance. He also called the role 'Life changing' in his recent Instagram post to celebrate the feat.  

When asked about his catalytic character, responsible to set the havoc in action in the town of Chanderi, the actor opened up about how he eased into the character by reliving his childhood moments of being scared by dogs. He stated, 

''When I was young, I was very scared of dogs. At night, when I used to come back from tuition, I used to get very scared that some dog may bite me or chase after me. To live that fear, I went back to my parents. My ghar ka name is Gola, just like the name, I was very gol-matol and a sweet kid. So I wanted to live that time again and Jaana is basically my version of 'Gola'.''

However, Banerjee received some crucial guidance from the director Amar Kaushik for the portrayal of Jaana. Talking about the same, he said, 

''Every time, Amar bhai used to tell me, when you have to act like you are scared, you should actually be scared! That fear you display is not comedy, you should really be scared. If you notice, my character was the most scaredy-cat in the movie. Another frequent occurrence in the movie was a comedy scene right after a horror scene. So it was tough as I had to tell myself that I am doing horror but I have to be 'comedic' too. So finding the right balance was an experience. I give the credit to the director, as I have always say directors are the ones who take out performances. We, as actors, are nothing if the director cannot guide us.''

(IMAGE- ABHISHEK BANERJEE INSTAGRAM & SHRADDHAXDAILY TWITTER)