'Saakini Daakini' is hitting the screens on Sept 16. IndiaGlitz caught up with its lead actresses, Regina Cassandra and Nivetha Thomas, to know more about the Sudheer Varma directorial.

Excerpts from the interview:

Regina:

I watched the Korean drama 'Midnight Runners' (whose remake 'Saakini Daakini' is) after receiving this movie offer. The original has got well-choreographed fights involving two male protagonists. I wondered how it would be adapted in Telugu with two female protagonists. The doubt only excited me more to take up this project. The original has been ably adapted to suit Indian sensibilities.

Women don't have as much physical strength as men. That's why, in the script, the females have been made mentally stronger. I am the thinking person in the script, while Nivetha's role is more action-driven. That is a nice contrast and the audience are going to find it entertaining. I absolutely adore Nivetha's acting. An actress like her doing an action film would be thrilling to the audience.

We both had healthy competition between ourselves. We brought our best to the table. Director Sudheer created the right atmosphere and let us do what we wanted to do.

It's good that I am getting to do films like 'AWE' and 'Anya's Tutorial' (streaming on Aha). Filmmakers are seeing me in a variety of roles. I am grateful for that. Thanks to social media and "Wokeness", terms like patriarchy are being highlighted more often than before. I am glad that filmmakers of this generation are seeing me in such (progressive) roles.

I am waiting to watch 'Sita Ramam'. I have heard so much about the movie.

Nivetha Thomas:

The title 'Saakini Daakini' is apt for the movie. None of us is black or white. We are grey. Shalini and Damini (the names of Regina and Nivetha in the movie) are not fond of each other at the beginning of the movie. We are each other's devils and that's why the title. It's also beautiful that the two characters, despite deriving their nicknames from devils, go on to do good. That's ironic.

As actors, we have a moral responsibility to do our best. Regardless of the gender of the actor, acting is a journey and this is an intimate profession. Our characters outlive us.

I was in college while doing Nani's 'Gentleman'. My principal in college was supportive despite the fact that I would attend classes only a couple of times a month. I chose to straddle both boats. I didn't feel it was an unwelcome burden. After all, I had made the choice of my own volition.