Mallika Prasad: Villains Like Amma Are Shaped by Societal Systems

Asked if she believes villains like Amma are born broken, or shaped by systems that quietly reward cruelty, Mallika told IANS: "Villains are not born, and they are not broken individuals. We are actually looking at how society shapes people, and society shapes behavior. And in the case of Amma, it's not direct violence. It's systemic violence. It is a violence of structure."

The actress further explained that Amma operates within a corrupt framework that silently rewards cruelty

"It is the violence of oppression. She is sort of playing by the rules of the gutter," Mallika said, highlighting how institutional decay can normalise harmful actions.

Interestingly, Mallika pointed out that Amma is never shown committing physical violence on screen.

"So I think it's important to talk about the fact that it's so, for example, it's also very interesting that, I mean, I don't want to do any spoilers, but actually, Amma has no scene where she's actually physically doing something violent. And a lot of violence happens because of her."

"So these are very interesting and complex things, this whole idea of violence in society. So this, this is something that I want to sort of leave here about the complexity of violence."

Talking about her latest release, "Mardaani 3", it delves into another dark and brutal reality of our society, further strengthening the franchise's legacy of impactful, issue-based storytelling.

Actress Janaki Bodiwala of Shaitaan fame also enters the Mardaani franchise to play a pivotal role. Mardaani 3 has been written by Aayush Gupta of The Railway Men fame.

The first installment of the Mardaani franchise was released in 2014. It featured Rani, Jisshu Sengupta, Tahir Raj Bhasin, and Anant Vidhaat Sharma in supporting roles. The second installment premiered in 2019. Gopi Puthran directed it. It also stars Vishal Jethwa.

- IANS