Malishka Mendonsa on portraying Sarojini Naidu in Freedom at Midnight: 'Wearing prosthetics was a unique challenge'

15 days ago | 5 Views

Fans can hardly contain their excitement as the highly anticipated series Freedom at Midnight from Sony LIV prepares to premiere on November 15. The series, which is based on the famous book by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins, stars a brilliant cast playing famous historical characters from India's independence movement. One of the most notable casting decisions is Malishka Mendonsa, who plays Sarojini Naidu, a freedom fighter and revolutionary leader in India.

Malishka Mendonsa takes on the role of Sarojini Naidu

Malishka would spend as much as four hours a day on makeup to ensure that the prosthetics accurately portrayed Naidu's ageing appearance. She reflected as she recounted the experience that wearing prosthetics was a unique challenge. To perfect the prosthetics, the actor would spend hours upon hours in makeup every day—nine hours, to be exact. Getting her look just right wasn't the only challenge; Malishka had to contend with melting prosthetics in hot weather, perspiration running down her face, the necessity to seek shade, and constant exposure to air conditioning to keep it from fading.

She gave the Freedom at Midnight crew the credit they deserved for helping her through her change and thanked them for their constant support. It was a team effort, and everyone from the makeup artists to the director, Nikkhil Advani, was instrumental in making sure everything was just right. On set, that level of commitment was constant; the entire cast and crew pulled together for the sake of the series. The outcomes are spectacular, in spite of the difficulties. What an incredible creation, and Malishka can hardly wait for everyone to see it.

Stellar ensemble cast brings history to life

Nikkhil Advani serves as both showrunner and director for the show, which is produced by Emmay Entertainment (Monisha Advani & Madhu Bhojwani) in partnership with StudioNext.

The series boasts an impressive ensemble cast, including Sidhant Gupta as Jawaharlal Nehru, Chirag Vohra as Mahatma Gandhi, Rajendra Chawla as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Arif Zakaria as Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Ira Dubey as Fatima Jinnah, Malishka Mendonsa as Sarojini Naidu, Rajesh Kumar as Liaquat Ali Khan, KC Shankar as V.P. Menon, Luke McGibney as Lord Louis Mountbatten, Cordelia Bugeja as Lady Edwina Mountbatten, Alistair Finlay as Archibald Wavell, Andrew Cullum as Clement Attlee, and Richard Teverson as Cyril Radcliffe.

Mark your calendars for November 15, because that's when Sony LIV (OTTplay Premium) will premiere Freedom at Midnight, a historical event like no other.

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