British accent for Kangna Ranaut

The game of musical chairs in Abhinay Deo’s tentatively titled film Crooked has finally ended. After Aishwarya Rai Bachchan backed out and Soniya Jehan was hurriedly brought in, Kangna Ranaut will now play the UK-based undercover cop in the film. But with just a week to go before filming starts, Kangna is left with little time to pick up a British accent and also learn swift kicks and moves, which her character - an athletic cop - is required to execute on screen.

It’s probably the biggest challenge of her career, and Kangna is getting no help at all from her director. She apparently tried to get in touch with Abhinay Deo, but since he’s shooting nights for the film, he sleeps through the day.

The actor is now at a loss to prepare for the role which has no reference point in Hindi cinema, which probably also explains why Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was doing the part before Kangna.

But Kangna insists she was the original choice. “To my surprise, Ritesh Siddhwani came back to me with the role. This time I had to accommodate it into my schedule at very short notice,” she says. “But I can’t talk about my role at all. All I can say is it is something I’ve never played before. Very intense, agile, and yes, free of glamorous trappings.”

While getting the body language would be relatively easier, acquiring the British accent needed for her part as a British-Asian character may prove tough for Kangna, who is known as much for her rustic Himachali accent as her powerhouse talent.