Jenifer Emmanuel, in her Hindi-language debut Haale Dil, explores love, vulnerability, and empathy through a character who challenged her deeply. She opens up about connecting with the show’s themes and the emotional journey of playing Dolly.
Making her Hindi-language debut with Haale Dil, actor Jenifer Emmanuel brings a gentle intensity to a role that challenged her, moved her, and ultimately changed the way she views love on screen. Speaking about the show, she shares how its title, themes, and her complex character all intertwine to create something deeply resonant.
“The series has a beautiful name—Haale Dil. It does, doesn’t it?” she said, adding, “Poetic in a longing-belonging sort of way. Dil toh sabke paas hota hai, nahi? And usually, sabka hi thoda sa bikhra hua. What’s not relatable about that?”
The title Haale Dil instantly strikes a chord for many, thanks to the popular Bollywood song of the same name, and Jenifer Emmanuel believes the familiarity only adds to the charm. “And such a lovely song too! I think everybody on set must’ve hummed it—voluntarily and involuntarily—while shooting. Familiarity breeds likeness, they say. So, I do hope it brings a bit of that extra pull,” she said.
The actress, who has been featured in Nachindi Girl Friendu and EVOL: A Love Story In Reverse, will be seen as Dolly in the series. Talking about the character, she said, “It took me time to understand her before I could feel what she feels. I can’t play a character I don’t like.”
Jenifer Emmanuel confessed, “I struggled—questioned her choices, doubted her motives. But slowly, I found reasons to empathise, understand, or convince myself why she would. Then tried to do my part to justify the scene and her role in its outcomes. It was less about excitement and more about understanding. That slow journey of getting under her skin was what made playing her worthwhile.”
Despite the emotional connection she might have built with Dolly, Jenifer Emmanuel admits she doesn’t relate to her at all. She shared, “I wouldn’t allow myself to love as devastatingly as she does.”
When asked how this role compares to her previous work, Jenifer Emmanuel pointed out that while every character is unique in form, they’re familiar in feeling. “All characters I’ve played are different from each other… in the same way as different people are different from each other. But the emotions remain universal. We all love. We all love wrong. We all love, right?” she said.
