18 Years of Darling: Esha Deol on RGV, Fardeen Khan, and playing a ghost with a wicked streak 18 : Bollywood News

You were so much fun to watch in Ram Gopal Varma’s Darling.
It’s one of the films where I had the most fun playing a negative role — especially taking revenge, but in a slightly humorous way.

18 Years of Darling: Esha Deol on RGV, Fardeen Khan, and playing a ghost with a wicked streak

18 Years of Darling: Esha Deol on RGV, Fardeen Khan, and playing a ghost with a wicked streakHow did you and Ramu get together?
Working with Ram Gopal Varmaji back then was an absolute treat. He observed me very closely in our first meeting and, surprisingly, picked up on certain mannerisms of mine. He then made me use those in the character. He let me be, and that helped bring out a powerful performance. I remember one particularly tough monologue — it just flowed naturally, without feeling forced.

It couldn’t be easy playing a ghost.
Ramuji allowed me to be completely free in front of the camera — no body language coaching, no workshops, just pure spontaneity. That’s exactly how I like to work. Thank God there were no workshops back then, because for some of us, they can kill that spark of spontaneity.

How did Fardeen Khan and you get along?
(Laughs) Poor Fardeen got a lot of whacks from me in this film! I remember apologising to him after every shot because my character had to be so mean to him. In reality, though, he’s one of my closest buddies. We had a great time shooting together. And I loved the song Tadap Tadap. Though Isha [Koppikar] and I had very little screen time together, she was an absolute sweetheart on set. Honestly, I just had a blast doing such a role. I also remember your review from back then, where you praised me a lot — it’s still special.

Do you believe in ghosts?
Hahaha… I believe in angels!