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We both felt like we lived our dreams, and we got to do it together, Kansara says.
She questioned the script: Why did Lena walk into the room in the first place?
I dont even think she would have stayed here for that long.
It was really empowering to see somebody ask questions to the director, to the writer.
I was like, These are also potential questions that I can ask myself about Ria.
Ritu Arya:Wow, thank you.
What did I learn from you?
I want to say the positivity and bright energy you brought.
Its contagious that openness, that spreading of sunshine.
How did you each approach playing sisters?
Do you have siblings?PK:I have a younger brother.
Two of my cousins are very much like my sisters.
I grew up seeing Ria and Lena in my life.
I really wanted to pull that out of the script more.
Their dancing stupidly in the living room wasnt originally in the script, either.
There are these moments that I have with my brothers that no one else understands.
But I was rooting for her.
I feel like shes a soul sister.
I think we met up a couple times for a coffee, and I didDoctor Whowith her.
Life happens and you get super-busy.
Like anyone, the audition came through my agents.
I didnt even know she had made this or was in the process of developing it.
Sounds like it was serendipitous.RA:Thats how it felt.
When I went to audition forWe Are Lady Parts, I remember feeling,This is bigger than me.
Id actually written a script about an all-brown-girl punk band, andthe lead character was called Zyra.
I was, like,suspicious.
I went in there being like, Lets see how dodgy this is.
When I got that part, Ive never cried so much.
I knew it would be the beginning of a relationship that would mean a lot to me.
I wouldnt be here now if it wasnt for that moment.
We joke about it, how we helped each other manifest.
Lets start with the first video that Ria and Lena film for Rias channel, Khan-Fu.
It was really early in the morning.
We just did it over and over and over again.
It was kind of like improv.
PK:Thats it!
You were just riffing.
You smashed it, man.
RA:Oh my God,yousmashed it.
I acted like a zombie chasing after her.
Maybe it was too weird, too fast, or too much of an homage to Edgar Wright.
Ive got so many videos of her still, saying the same fucking thing.
[Laughs] I shouldnt swear.
All of you saying, I am the fury.
You brought up Edgar Wright.
That was all very strictly choreographed.
The fight tells so much story as well, because Lena just kicks Rias ass.
Shes clearly a better fighter and the one that Ria learned from.
Do either of you have a favorite prop that you used during that fight?
Also, that picture
RA:That picture is so weird!
RA:Im doing this with my hand.
We took so many pictures; why did they pick that one?
So you relished the opportunity to destroy it.PK:Yeah, we kind of did!
This wasnt a prop, but I really like the bite scene, too.
That is one of my favorite performances of Ritus.
I remember on the day, people were crying watching the monitors.
You move people like I have seen nobody else do.
You play Lena with depth and nuance that I dont think anybody even saw on the page.
I literally had to hold it together.
Its shot like a James Bond torture sequence.
Priya, are you actually getting waxed?PK:We use honey; it wasnt wax.
We wanted it to be comedically long.
Theres a close-up of me screaming into the camera.
I was like, I cant believe this is my job.
This is what I do for a living, guys.
That scene is very intense, and Nimra plays terrifying so well.
She is going to be the next Bond villain; she has to be.
The waxing thing was really nostalgic.
In South Asian culture especially, I was told, Dont shave, your hair will grow back thicker.
My mom used to tell me that religiously.
Going into the waxing, I was like,It istorture.
This is the full Desi experience in my local village.
I remember telling this to Nida when we were rehearsing: Can we use a butter knife?
It was really fun to put our own spins on these things.
Nimra Bucha also plays an evil mom inMs.
But shes made for the screen.
Shes terrifying but also really sexy; I have a really big girl crush on her.
She was there on set, asking the cleaners if they wanted cups of tea.
After we wrapped, she invited me around.
We really liked these tofu sandwiches that we used to get when we were rehearsing stunts.
She remade those sandwiches for me.
And as an actress, she brought some really fun ideas.
Thats a theme of the movie as well, what that can do to you.
We felt so much love and support.
It makes me so excited that thats how were progressing as a society and a culture.
This was much easier in my joggers.
PK:It was dangerous!
AR:Priyas braid kept whipping her in the face.
It was a whole thing.
It was very cathartic, the scene where we kick all the aunties asses.
PK:The No, shame on you bit was
Both:Ahh.
[Laugh together.]
Were you familiar with the film?PK:I remember watchingDevdaswhen I was a kid.
We could be a little bit wacko with all the moves.
I included theMarvel drop, and I wanted to do all the finger guns, slices, and chops.
We worked really closely with the choreographer,Nileeka Bose.
And there was a detail in the script that they do the dance quite shit-ly.
None of the girls know what theyre doing, and Ria wants to make Salim uncomfortable.
RA:I remember watching you do it in rehearsal.
I was blown away.
I remember Nida saying, Can you not make it as good?
I just dont know if Ria would be as good at dancing as you are.
Now, Im not a stuntwoman.
I only started learning martial arts when I got the part for this film.
We were filming on a hill, so it made it harder because thats not how we rehearsed it.
I was on a wire, and it was freezing cold.
I couldnt quite get my legs straight.
Ritu came up to me and was like, I want you to remember that youre not a stuntwoman.
My stunt double,Erin Rose, has years and years and years of martial-arts experience.
Ritu was like, You know whats justice to Ria?
She gets the best person for the job.
Somebody whos capable of doing that bit justice.
This is not about you.
Im so thankful that you had that conversation with me.
RA:I had just been there when I was doing my first few stunts forUmbrella Academy.
It was 4 a.m., and theyd left my stunts until that time.
It was really hard in those circumstances to be able to get it.
It was hard playing Lena when shes passive; I try not to be like that in life.
She doesnt listen to the people who love her.
Shes not listening to Ria; shes sleepwalking through this wedding.
That was a hard thing to yield to but its what was needed.
The story is the little sister saving her big sister, and that was at times tricky for me.
But its a matter of believing in the whole story, and Im proud of that.
I feel like this is a role that Ive worked ten years to get.
I felt like I could just be myself.
I had such genuine care for your well-being.
During the last scene we filmed, we were just holding each others hands.
PK:Taking moments together.
RA:Taking it in together.
PK:The last day of the shoot was the scene where the sisters have their burgers.
We shot that in front of the London skyline.
And then theres also that bittersweetness of,This is ending now.
Now I have another sister in my life.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
