Madhuri Braganza - Actress

Tell us a bit about yourself? 
I'm Madhuri Braganza. I am an actor and a special educator. I live in Bangalore and I predominantly do Malayalam films. I've done one Kannada film as well. I studied in Bangalore. I did my masters at the University of Northampton in the UK. It's an MA in special educational needs and inclusion. And yeah, I love music. I'm a singer by passion. I've always loved acting, and ever since I was a child, I've done plays and I've done musicals, comedy sketches.

I had an amazing childhood, and one thing I can tell you for sure is that I have amazing parents who've always been supportive. I also have five brothers and being in a big family is just so amazing. There's never a dull moment at home. Also, you kind of learn to share and adjust, especially when you're one of the older siblings. So, I think my childhood has taught me a lot that I use now in life. I think as a child, I would gravitate towards children or even individuals with special needs. If I saw someone who didn't look neurotypical or didn't look like other people, I'd be very curious. And I remember this home called Shishubhavan, that my parents used to take us to occasionally. I think that made a very strong mark in my mind from my childhood. So, therefore I think I ended up being a special educator now. I feel like there's so much more that life has to offer and I'm really looking forward to everything that's coming.

How did you start your acting career?
The film started in 2018. But I started doing TV commercials and ad films, digital content, small modelling projects and print shoots when I was in college. One of my seniors used work with the production house 'Nirvana' in Bangalore. I was very lucky to do my first Ad project with them. Then there was a friend of mine who knew a cinematographer in Mollywood. They were looking for a new face for a movie at that time and I gave an audition for the same. That's how I started my movie career.

I think what I enjoy the most about acting is the fact that you can do so much with yourself. You can be so many different versions of yourself. And when the film comes out, you have such a huge impact on people's hearts and their minds. It's a lot of responsibility. And I think my favourite scene that I've done is my film, Joseph, the man with a scar. I had to sit on a cycle, not ride the cycle. Someone else had to ride the cycle, my co-actor. And we had to fall off the cycle into dirty slush. It was super fun. You just really let go at that point. You're not conscious anymore. It was the most fun experience and just a nice moment of letting yourself be fully liberated.

One thing that I'm happy about is that I started in late in life. Because if I was young, I would not be able to deal with the amount of hate that actors get. There are certain expectations that people have from you. They think of you a certain way, and then they see you as something else on social media. And they're all like, trying to grapple with this, this version, that they have a few. One situation that I would really remember for the rest of my life is there was this one guy who spoke to me on social media. He was commenting on my outfit and asking me not to expose and show skin. I had an argument with this guy on social media. The next day, it was all over social media. And I was getting calls from magazines and newspapers like Times of India I was shocked. The articles misquoted me in a lot of places. But it taught me that you don't have to argue or fight with everything or anyone. You can pick your battles and choose wisely.

Do you have a role model or someone who inspired you in your journey till now?
I have lots of role models and lots of people who I'm inspired by. But I think one person if I had to pick would be Ellen DeGeneres. She is someone who's always inspired me since I was a child. She has been herself and she's been authentic. She's been someone who really did not care about what people thought of her. And she followed her heart, and her happiness was her ultimate priority. If I had to pick an actor from India, I think it would be Radhika Aapte. She's, she's someone who's also not care about what's in fashion and what roles she should go for. She just went after her own heart and and that was super inspiring. She really didn't care about Indian standards as such. She is courageous.

I love music. I sing and I play the piano. And I'm also learning the ukulele right now.  I also love going to stand-up comedy shows. I love rom coms movies. I also love animals. I love dogs and cats. I have two cats. I love hanging out with my friends and spending time with my family.

What’s the weirdest thing a fan has done for you?
Some fans have done some really weird awkward things. But I think if I had to pick, there was a guy who sent me an e-mail asking me if he could be my boyfriend. It had elaborate paragraphs. He said he is going to make me the happiest woman in the entire world and he wrote about how he wants to take me to the Maldives. it was really sweet.

Favourite part of the day?
My favourite part of the day is my workout.

How do you manage your time?
I kind my day around my workout. I also have online classes and in person classes that I take. So, if I have time for these two, I insert the rest of my plans into my schedule wherever I have time.

I think my style would be quite minimal clothing wise, and just the opposite jewellery wise. I love to accessorise, and I love wearing chunky jewellery.

How would you relate yourself with Teejh?
I absolutely love their style and the fact that it has so much silver. I love silver and mainly oxidized silver. Teejh is also a brand that is predominantly women, which is just generally empowering. And I also feel Teejh is a brand that works with locally sourced jewelry, which is also something that is very close to my heart. I think that it's important to support local businesses. So I'm just very happy to be associated with this brand.

What are your upcoming projects?
I have two malayalam films coming up. One will release by the end of this year. The name of film is ‘Pathonpatham Nootandu’. I am doing a small role in this film. But it is a strong role. The second film is Varaal, which will release in January next year. I am doing a lead role in this movie and it is one of the biggest roles I have done so far.

I want to do a role in a Hollywood film. It's been a dream. And hopefully, I will manifest it, if it's a small role. My next goal is to defy the laws of acting, having a shelf life. Everyone thinks that acting has a shelf life and can be done till a certain age. So those are my two goals. And I'm hoping that I'll be able to achieve both.