Aditi Rao Hydari is the leading lady of Gandhi Talks. The silent film, which has finally found its way to the viewers on January 30, 2026, stars Vijay Sethupathi, Arvind Swamy, Aditi Rao Hydari, and Siddharth Jadhav, with Kishor Pandurang Belekar at the helm. The film places two men at starkly different positions in life, and how money rules their choices, affection not just for them but also for those around them.
Aditi essays the character of Gayatri, the neighbor of Mahadev (Vijay), whom he is in love with, but cannot win over. Meanwhile, Arvid portrays Boseman, an originally successful businessman whose empire nears collapse.
In an exclusive interview with us, actress Aditi Rao Hydari shed light on the ‘deep’ nature of Gandhi Talks and working with some greats in the industry, as well as her maneuver to a silent film amid contributions to many industries.
How did Gandhi Talks come about, and what was it like working with Vijay Sethupathi and Arvind Swami?
Aditi Rao Hydari: When this came to me, I was really excited. I didn’t know the concept. I just knew that it was a silent film, so I was dying to do the narration. So I heard it, and conceptually, of course, it’s quite deep. But it was told in a kind of satirical, kind of like a dark comedy vibe. But it has a lot of depth, and it’s a comment on society. And I found that very relevant.
A director’s vision and their obsession with their film is very infectious for me, which Kishore sir had, because he’d worked many years on this. And then the fact that there was Vijay Sethupathi, Arvind Swami, and of course, Rahman sir doing the music. Vijay Sethupathi, I’ve almost done three films with, and none of them worked out. So this was one [I got to do with him]. It was a lot of fun. And I was really looking forward to it.
Arvind sir, I’ve worked with him in one of Mani sir’s films, and he’s really like family. But I didn’t work at all with Arvind sir in this film. I was really looking forward to it. And now that the film is out, and I’m hearing people’s reactions, I’m like, ‘it’s gotten through to people.
Having worked across Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam industries and now coming in with a silent film, how differently did you approach this film?
Aditi Rao Hydari: Just now, I’ve been stationed in Bombay (Mumbai) and working on Hindi stuff, but I do miss working in the other languages with the other directors. And when I was doing films in other languages, people would ask me, how is it different? The difference is only in the person who is the captain of the ship, that is, the director. So [it’s about] how that director runs the set because cinema is about feeling. And I feel doing a silent film has reiterated that to me even more, that it’s not even Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, or Marathi, it’s no language. It’s just your heart, your heartbeat, your feeling, your body language, your action, your eyes, [and] your face.
No boundary, no difference, no language, no caste, creed, religion, nothing. It’s about human beings. It’s about their dreams, their aspirations, their hopes, their lives. And I think that’s what unites everybody, what you feel from your heart, yeah. And the love and whatever you give from your heart.
