Kanika Mann, best known for her popular turn as Guddan in Guddan Tumse Na Ho Payega, has never shied away from reinventing herself, and her latest role in Naagin 7 marks a clear shift in that direction. Known largely for her positive, emotionally expressive characters on television, Kanika is now embracing complexity as she steps into the role of an icchadhaari dragon. What excites her most, however, is not the label of good or evil, but the emotional truth the character brings.
Opening up on her approach, Kanika reveals that “she doesn’t know the definition of a negative, positive, or grey character. All she knows is that her character is very human. What truly attracted her was the honesty of the character as she has always wanted to explore roles that feel real, layered, and a little unpredictable, characters that do not fit into boxes. This character is not trying to be good or bad. She exists in a grey space, and that felt very human to her. As actors, they grow when they allow ourselves to explore complexity, and this role offered layers he had not tapped into before. He feels genuinely overwhelmed this space because it challenges his creatively.”
What sets this character apart from her earlier roles is the emotional restraint it demands. Kanika says, “Most of her earlier characters were emotionally expressive and wore their hearts on their sleeves. This one is very different. She is inward, restrained, and observant. Her emotions are not always spoken but felt, and that subtlety makes her unique for her as a performer.
Shows like Naagin often ignites conversations and memes on social media, especially with fantasy elements like shape-shifting. Kanika takes that reaction in her stride. She says, “she sees it as a sign of how strongly the show connects with audiences today. Social media has its own language, and memes are a big part of that. She takes it positively. If people are engaging and reacting, it means the character has made an impact. Her responsibility is to stay truthful to the performance, and after that, she enjoys seeing how audiences make it their own.
About her time away from television before taking on Naagin 7, Kanika clarifies, she wouldn’t really call it a break as she created a space for herself where she could be more selective about the work she chooses Pauses help you understand yourself better and allow you to make conscious choices instead of just staying busy.”
News Edit KV Raman