Mumbai, Feb 15 (IANS): 'Begum Jaan' actress Poonam Rajput has been roped in for Anurag Kashyap's directorial short film 'Chaar Chappalein' also starring Manav Kaul, Randeep Jha, and Sanjay Gandhi. Poonam shared her experience working with the ace filmmaker and also revealed how challenging it was to play a Bihari character for the first time.

She said: "'Chaar Chappalein' is an international short film set in Bihar. I portray a 21-year-old newly married woman and am playing the lead opposite Randeep Jha. The film was shot in Varanasi."

The 'Mirzapur 2' actress added that she never played a Bihari character before and language was a challenge for her.

"I had never played a Bihari character in my acting career, so I needed to learn the dialect and accent as I hail from Himachal Pradesh. The shoot started 2 days after I was selected to play the part, so I needed to quickly get into the skin of my character. I tried to keep it natural and real without losing the authenticity of her coming from a small town. Also, she is an introvert and simple girl which is the opposite of who I am in real life."

While talking about her experience working with the director, Poonam shared: "Anurag sir embraces the improvisation process, giving actors full creative control over their performances. He makes his actors feel very comfortable on set, and he wants them to look natural and realistic on screen. When I auditioned for this role, I was not confident that sir would actually cast me. I was unsure if I could perform well enough to get selected for the role, but thanks to his faith in my abilities and hard work, it all paid off in the end."

She recalled her first day on the sets and how she was nervous. "I was nervous to work with such an experienced director. At first, I felt quite intimidated by sir but my co-actor Randeep Jha and I gave the first shot in one take. It took off some pressure from me and I felt proud of myself. Also, the shooting schedule was preponed, we were not mentally prepared for that but still, we gave our best efforts and it came out well."