In this freewheeling interview, SHAHANA GOSWAMI confesses to JYOTHI VENKATESH that she has diluted her equity as an actress but in the process gained work friendships that she still continues to maintain.
Recently you resurfaced in Hindi Cinema with Tu Hai Mera Sunday. Where did you vanish?
I did not vanish away from Bollywood films. It is sad that most of my international films have not yet managd to get a release in India till date. I was actually busy working in International films like In The Shadows (Gali Guliyan) directed by Dipesh Jain and Force of Destiny directed by Paul Cox which was based on his own autobiography and Vara: A Blessing, in which I play a devdasi, who, like my mother (played by Bharat Natyam dancer Geeta Chandran), has devoted her life to Lord Krishna. Directed by Bhutanese Lama Khyentse Norbu, the film opened at Busan Film festival. Though trained in Odissi dance, I played the role of a Bharat Natyam danseuse in Vara.
Manoj Bajpayee was your co-actor in ‘In The Shadows’!
In The Shadows in which my co-actors were Manoj Bajpayee, Neeraj Kabi and Ranvir Sheorey was titled Gali Guliyan was also shown in the recently concluded MAMI festival in Mumbai.
You were appreciated for your performance in Tu Hai Mera Sunday. Tell me something about your role in the film?
In Tu Hai Mera Sunday, which was a light hearted film, I played the role of Kavya, a young girl who takes care of her ailing old father. My role broke all stereotypes that existed in my career. She is the Vice President of a big corporate house and lives her life on her own terms and conditions. Meeting Arjun played by Barun Sobti gives her a new lease of life as she finds him compatible with her and is drawn towards him gradually. At a base level the character of Kavya is a lot like me in real life.
You are also now acting in a web series!
Yes. I am playing a smaller part of the web series called Secret Games in the current season and hope to bag a bigger part in the next season. I strongly believe that the web is the future of filmmaking and a day would come when actors would prefer to engage themselves more with the web than the traditional feature films.
Do you have any apprehensions about kissing on screen or doing a bold intimate scene?
I’ve done on screen kisses many a times. They’ve also been made a big deal about at that time like in Ru Ba Ru and certain other projects, but I don’t have any objection to it. Like any other thing in a scene, if you’re required to even burst out and cry, you can debate that with your director if you feel that it’s not needed. So, everything is based on the authenticity and requirement of the project.Whatever scenes I do on screen have to have a background and can’t be there for the heck of it. Bold scenes or kisses have to be an organic part of the story and script. After that, I have to have a level of trust and comfort with my director and producer and usually, that goes hand in hand.
We hear that you have a very good voice. Is it true that you also want to try your hands at singing in films?
Yes. It has been a childhood dream of mine to be a singing actor like Kishore Kumar, Suraiya, Farhan Akhtar, Alia Bhatt and Shraddha Kapoor
Is it true that you have been a part of a musical play called Love & All That Jazz?
Yes. I have done a short musical play called Love and All That Jazz. I had made it a point to learn how to play jazz for that show
You were in a serious and intense relationship with model turned actor Milind Soman. Did the relationship cost you your career in Bollywood?
Miiind Soman is still a good friend of mine and even today we both are in regular touch though we broke off a long time ago on an amicable note. Milind had told me once that every relationship comes with an expiry date. I do not at all think that my relationship with Milind cost me my career. On the contrary, Milind has enriched my life in many ways.
Do you think you have got the dues that you deserve?
As an actor, I think I am instinctive as well as spontaneous. Everybody, whether a man or for that matter a woman, gets his or her dues in life at one time or the other. We all make certain choices in our lives. The films that I chose to do outside of India made sense to me creatively as an actor. All that I can say is that I decided to dilute my equity but in the process gained work friendships that I still continue to maintain.
You seem to gel a lot with men whose name starts with Milind. Why?
(Laughs) It’s just a coincidence that Milind Dhaimade who directed me in Tu Hai Mera Sunday is also a very good friend of mine. I should say that it was an instant connect with Milind Dhaimade. I think as a director he is very fantastic and has the most organized set up though Tu Hai Mera Sunday was a small budget film with a heart.
Is it true that you have married an Italian and settled down abroad?
It is not true that I have gone abroad and married and settled down. I have an Italian boy friend and we live in Paris. His name is Mauro Gazzi and he owns a restaurant
Do you have plans to marry too?
I do not think that I’d get married because I for one feel that marriage is not at all a necessity in one’s life. Personally I do not wish to get married. If at all I did move out of India, it with the intention of expanding my career. It was my own personal choice.
What is your forte as an actress?
I think I use my eyes a lot and that is my forte in acting. I would describe myself as a bit spoilt actress. I do not have any regrets at all and am happy with the way my career has shaped ever since I made my debut with Naseeruddin Shah’s directorial debut film followed by Honey Moon Travels Private Limited and Nandita Das’s Firaq.
Do you have inhibitions when it comes to exposing your body?
I have no inhibitions absolutely. I have played so many love making scenes in my films. My family is very supportive and encourages me to be a through professional when it comes to my career. My biggest strength is that I have always worked with people who I trust and understand well.
Can you name five best films of yours as an actress till date?
My five best films as an actress are Rock On, Firaq, Rubaiyaat Hossain’s Under Construction, Vara and Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children.
Tell me about your plans to turn a director.
I am in the process of turning a director. In fact I have also developed an idea to make a short film. Initially and also planning to direct a feature film in the near future, I am in search of a producer in India to make my kind of a film too.
