Actress Nushrratt Bharuccha plays a househelp named Meenal in the upcoming anthology film "Ajeeb Daastaans". The actress recalls how her own help at home helped her prepare for the role.

"I started observing my own househelp to understand her mannerisms and characteristics. She was a great reference point for me and, unknowingly, helped me to get a deeper understanding of my character," the actress tells IANS.

"For three to four hours that she would come, she would make all of us at home happy and 'feel at home' with her fun banter. That is what I wanted my character to portray," she claimed.

The segment featuring Nushrratt is titled "Khilauna", and it stars Abhishek Banerjee and child star Inayat Verma in pivotal roles. "Khilauna" is directed by Raj Mehta, who shot to fame making the comedy "Good Newwz" in 2019. His segment in "Ajeeb Daastaans", however, comes with a dark twist.

"Ajeeb Daastaans" has four segments, with the other stories directed by Shashank Khaitan, Neeraj Ghaywan, and Kayoze Irani. The anthology also stars Fatima Sana Shaikh, Jaideep Ahlawat, Konkona Sen Sharma, Aditi Rao Hydari, Shefali Shah, Manav Kaul and Tota oy Chowdhary.

"Meenal's story is that of an ordinary girl who is struggling to make ends meet, and provide for the best for herself and her sister. I could feel a similarity in Meenal's life and my househelp, who too works hard to provide for her son," Nushrratt says.