Aditi Rao Hydari On Finally Working With Vijay Sethupathi in ‘Gandhi Talks’: 'The Jinx Had To Be Broken'

The actor reveals how previous collaborations with Vijay Sethupathi fell through

Team THR India
By Team THR India
LAST UPDATED: JAN 14, 2026, 14:11 IST|5 min read
Aditi Rao Hydari; the poster of 'Gandhi Talks'
Aditi Rao Hydari; the poster of 'Gandhi Talks'

Ahead of the release of Kishor Pandurang Belekar’s silent film Gandhi Talks, Aditi Rao Hydari shares her excitement at collaborating with co-star Vijay Sethupathi.

In a recent conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India, Aditi Rao Hydari opened up about the long road to this project. She revealed that Gandhi Talks wasn't the first time the duo was slated to share the big screen.

“There have been three or four films that we have almost done together, but something or the other happened, and it didn’t work out,” she said, referring to previous projects that never took off. “This jinx had to be broken,” she added with a smile, explaining that this collaboration was one of the motivators for her to take on the film.

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For years, fans have anticipated a collaboration between the two. Prior to Gandhi Talks, Hydari was set to join Sethupathi on the cast of Tughlaq Darbar (2021) as of 2019. However, following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and consequent date clashes, she opted to bow out of the film, with Raashi Khanna taking her place in 2020. She announced her departure from the film on X, saying: "Raashi Khanna over to you! All the very best and I hope you enjoy making the film!"

In Gandhi Talks, a silent dark comedy, she plays the role of the mysterious Liar, opposite Sethupathi as Mahadev, a young unemployed graduate at odds with his values. This one-of-a-kind project was equal parts challenging, and exhilarating, shares Hydari. “You just get to be, and breathe, and feel,” she says, talking about the beauty of acting without using dialogue as a crutch.

Aditi Rao Hydari has a history of selecting her roles with intention, with an emphasis on artistry and integrity. “The five-year-old inside of me is always alive, always dreaming, always believing, and making it happen,” she says, continuing on her path despite projects falling through. Her relentless optimism is what has pushed her to continue pursuing scripts that truly resonate. “Those scripts are few and far between… but I can’t complain, because they are there,” she smiles, hinting at an upcoming project with a beloved director.

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Hydari was most recently seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Netflix series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar (2024) as Bibbo Jaan. Meanwhile, Sethupathi was last seen in Pandiraj’s romantic action-comedy Thalaivan Thalaivii (2025) as Aagasaveeran. He is also set to star in Mysskin’s Train alongside Shruti Hassan, which is in post-production, and is currently filming for Vetrimaaran’s Arasan.

Gandhi Talks is set to release on January 30, 2026.

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