Even before Jailer 2 was released, actor Apeksha Porwal was given a nickname, which is a Tamil spin to her surname “Porwal” (Sword in Tamil). She happily accepted it, and now, with the Rajinikanth starrer redefining the mass masala genre, the nickname is so apt. “I am in love with this nickname. I am happy that my scene in the film is justifying this nickname,” she begins, as the Former Miss India Delhi winner expresses her romanticisation of a woman wielding a weapon. “I am always fascinated with this image of a woman wielding a weapon or ‘Porwal‘ (Laughs). Being a fan of Kill Bill films, I like to explore more action roles in the future.”

Differentiating between a pageant and modelling, she says she was not keen on developing a career out of her Miss India win. Instead, she shares that transitioning from serious academics to acting was the big shift. “Often people mistake pageant for modelling. It is not so. I did not view modelling as a career. Having said that, pageant too makes you look a certain way and walk a certain way. I also did theatre for two years, so I was able to come out of the pageant mould.” Elaborating on her fascination for martial arts, Apeksha says she has training in combat too, which landed her the Jailer 2 role. “I devoted time to learning martial arts too. So I was preparing to get into acting. However, being an Economics Honours student, acting was the surprise switch.”

She adds that she took a conscious decision to break away from the prim and proper appearance typical of a model, and that was a major step in her unlearning and turning into an actor. “I chose the series Undekhi (2020-2024), where I play a tribal girl. In the series, my hair is unkempt, and throughout I wear just one costume. I consciously chose this to effectively step into the acting career, unlike my stint in beauty pageants.” Shifting focus to Jailer 2she says fitting into the world of Nelson was the biggest task for her when she was offered this assassin role. “Once I got the offer, I watched the first part and understood Nelson’s filmmaking style. Also, the brief Nelson gave me was helpful. I was told that my character needed to be relaxed and treat the assassination assignment as just another day at the office. That added to the character’s style and coolness. I simply surrendered to Nelson’s vision. I am director’s actor.”