Actress Sonnalli Seygall will play a trained assassin in the upcoming series “Anamika”, starring Sunny Leone. The role will see her perform heavy-duty action scenes for the first time.
Talking about her preparation for the role and the new techniques she acquired, Sonnalli tells IANS: “I play Rhea, a trained assassin, who has a killer instinct. She is sharp and intelligent. There are a lot of running, fight, and shooting sequences in the series. So, I went through gun training. I had basic fitness training. Also, coincidently, I was traveling down South before the show and wanted to learn a martial arts form, so I learned Kalaripayattu. That definitely came in handy during the shoot because any martial arts form gives you the right posture and body language.”
“For the fight sequences, we had trainers on the set and before any scene, there was a proper rehearsal with gear. Sunny and I rehearsed over and over again. The training would happen under full professional guidance and supervision. I practice MMA (Mixed Martial Art) and Calisthenics with my trainer Saurav Rathore, too, and this involves a lot of jumps, body rolls, and body training, which also came in handy while shooting for my part,” she shares.
The actress trained for about two hours every day, which included basic bodyweight training. “It helps me at the shoot. I also do a lot of cardio, as there are a lot of running and chasing sequences. On the set, I workout for 30 minutes for prep before every action sequence. It includes a lot of jumps,” she says.
Sonnalli, who rose to fame with her role “Pyaar Ka Punchnama”, believes strongly in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
“Even during the lockdown, I made sure that I worked out and stayed fit. But I’m not somebody who’s very stringent about being a certain body type, because, for me, all sizes are beautiful. I had put on a bit of weight because I eat everything, but I workout. For this role, I had to look leaner because as an assassin you can’t be on the heavier side. I had to be lean and agile,” says Sonnalli.
