Kani Kusruti on playing a rape survivor in Assi: Can't fully tap into that trauma

Kani Kusruti opened up about playing a rape survivor in Assi, saying it is impossible to fully grasp such trauma but essential to portray it with honesty and sensitivity.

Kani Kusruti recently opened up on portraying a rape survivor in her upcoming film Assi, saying it is impossible to completely understand such trauma but important to approach it with honesty. In a recent interview, she shared that she drew from the collective realities many women in India face to bring authenticity to the role of Parima.

Speaking to PTI, she said, “I don't think one can tap into the trauma (of a survivor) exactly. As an actor, we tried to go closest to it, and there can be moments you are probably in it because you are almost believing this has happened to you. But I'm not an actor who would fully go in like that, (because) then it will kind of affect you. I don't tend to do that."

Kani added that while she cannot claim to fully understand such trauma, the subject is deeply familiar. “As a woman growing up in this country from childhood to now, do I have a sense of such assaults or traumas? Yes, possibly I do, as my close people have gone through it. So, every now and then, this is one of the things that you are closely associated with even when you don't want it to be that way,” she added.

The 40-year-old actor said the film also gave her insight into the workings of the legal system in India in cases of sexual violence. She noted that courtroom proceedings can often reopen old wounds for survivors.

Recalling conversations with friends dealing with similar legal battles, she said, “To get justice, you've to go through it (pain), so there is an absurdity and irony within the system, but that's how you get justice, you cannot forget it. In the film, there's also a line, 'They won't let you forget this'.”

Directed by Anubhav Sinha, Assi follows Parima, a married woman living in Delhi who is abducted and sexually assaulted by a group of men. The film traces the traumatic aftermath, focusing on the police investigation and the legal fight that follows, with Taapsee Pannu playing her lawyer.