When Shraddha Das turned gun-toting bandit

Actress Shraddha Das, who plays a character called Revolver Rani in the forthcoming Telugu crime-comedy "Guntur Talkies", says she was required to use original guns to essay the role.

The film, which releases in cinemas on March 4, is directed by National Award-winning filmmaker Praveen Sattaru.

"I had to use real revolvers. They're so heavy and when you shoot, it's not easy to control the impact on the body. Praveen was very particular that I didn't blink when I shot, because he wanted me do it like a professional," Shraddha, recalling the intimidating experience, told IANS.

"Initially, I found it very challenging to not blink every time I fired, but slowly I overcame the fear," she said.

Her character is modelled after Kangana Ranaut's character from "Revolver Rani".

"It's easily the wackiest role of my career. The film is full of wacky characters and their quirkiness is what audiences will find appealing. As wacky and eccentric as it is, my role is equally bold," she said, adding that with this role, she has raised the bar in terms of performance.

Talking about her character, she added: "This is the first time I've dubbed for my own character, which hails from the border of Chhattisgarh-Andhra Pradesh, and she speaks a very different accent. I have my own gang and some of the male characters in the film fear me."

Shraddha credits her director for being able to successfully pull off the role.

"Usually, when you play such an eccentric and negative character, you're bound to go overboard but I learnt from my director to express that eccentricity subtly. I learnt that when you express subtly, it creates more impact. It was an honour to work with Praveen," she said, and added that she's eager to know audiences' reaction.

The film also stars Sidhu, Naresh, Rashmi Gautham and Mahesh Manjrekar.

In Bollywood, Shraddha awaits the release of "Great Grand Masti". She also has a film each in Bengali and Kannada.