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| "I don't know how many people will see the movie, but whoever sees will recognize me as an actress" - Neha Dhupia | |||
| Neha Dhupia gained recognition during the Femina Miss India contest in 2002, in which she subsequently emerged a winner. She made her Bollywood debut, with Harry Baweja's Qayamat opposite Ajay Devgan. Labelled as a 'sex symbol' post Julie and Sheesha, Neha Dhupia would rather be known as an 'actress'. Here is Miss Dhupia, talking about her latest movie Siskiyaan, which according to her is her foray into serious cinema. What is the movie Siskiyaan about? This is the story of a woman named Ayesha Sheikh, who's character I'm playing. This woman is a rape victim. She was raped during the riots. The movie is about her struggle, her story and finally her fight for justice. Can you tell us a little more about the character? In the movie, when she is raped, she is a journalist by profession. After the incident, she becomes very reclusive. At a certain level, she has been betrayed. So she becomes a complete loner. Being affected by the incident, she stays alone. She is somebody who is domesticated. One day, she gets awakened and wants to fight for her justice. Then, she turns very strong. What is the underlying message of this movie? The underlying message is that it talks very highly of the respect of women. It has been set in a Hindu-Muslim background. At the end of the film it states that there is no difference between the Hindu and the Muslims. It is basically about a woman and a man's story. It is a woman's fight for justice. Women will get inspired after watching this movie, seeing the protagonist fighting for justice, alone. In a country like ours such movies are needed. This film is different from what you have done earlier. What was your experience like? The experience was very good. And I want to do different films every time so that neither the audience nor I myself get bored. Do you think the audience got bored seeing your previous films? I don't think so. Sometimes it happens that the artists themselves get bored of doing the same thing over and over again. My last film Kya Kool Hai Hum was a comedy and it did very well at the box office. I was very excited about it. Let's see what happens further. Siskiyaan is very different. It's a psychological thriller and is far more serious. The audience's reaction remains to be seen.
It definitely was a conscious decision. It's a pity, but an artist's performance is not spoken about if there is skin show and glamour. If one does expose in a movie, the skin show is given more importance. Probably even the audience will not expect a great performance if there is a lot of glamour. Till now, everybody was talking about Neha Dhupia, the sex symbol. It's very important that now the focus shifts to Neha Dhupia, the actress. I don't know how many people will see the movie, but I do know that whoever sees will recognize Neha Dhupia, the actress. And that is all thanks to my director, Mr. Ashwini Chaudhry, who gave me this opportunity and of course my producer, Mr. Guddu Dhanoa who offered such a script to me. Do you ever regret the 'bold' roles that you have done earlier? At that time, while I was doing those roles, I thought that what I was doing was according to the story, and hence it was fine. Later on there was such a hullabaloo about it. Then I thought it was time to change it. People do say that I am a sex symbol. However, I have maintained from the beginning that I am not one. I used to find it funny when people gave me the sex symbol tag. But I was patient and said that time will tell. Luckily, good scripts have come my way. So now I don't have to justify anything. This is your second film with Guddu Dhanoa. What was the experience like? It felt very good. The experience of the first film was different. The experience of the second film is at a different level. One cannot even imagine that both the films have been made by the same film maker. Both the films were so different. It was great working with Ashwini as well. His first film Dhoop is a very sensitive and sensible film. I was very happy when I got an opportunity to work with him. He just understands cinema so well. As an artist, I learnt a lot from him. He taught me so much about cinema.
Siskiyaan is definitely a commercial film. I don't understand the difference between non commercial and commercial cinema. Whenever commerce is involved, the film will be a commercial film. Yes, big budget, medium budget and small budget films are different. Siskiyaan is a different film because it is a hard hitting subject. All directors cannot handle such a subject with ease. But Ashwini has handled this topic beautifully and with ease. What is the USP of the film? The USP of this film is the story. It looks different from the posters itself. The audience won't get tired of it. From the publicity also, you won't be able to tell what the film is about. There is a thrill and suspense element which is dealt differently. A lot of things are clichd when it comes to a thriller. You would probably see the dark or even a ghost in a thriller because that's how it is 'supposed' to be. This is a story based thriller. It leaves an impression on you somewhere.
Yes, I do have a new look, with short hair. A new look was required in the film. We decided on a new look because we wanted to show Ayesha Sheikh and not Neha Dhupia in the film. When you see the film, you will know why she has short hair. There is a reason. She comes to a certain point where she starts to hate her long hair and just wants to cut it. I thought the short-haired look was necessary for the film and so I did it. It felt good. I feel that in every profession, be it acting, journalism or anything else, the next day at work should be different from the previous day. When I see the DVD cover or poster of my last film and then the poster of Siskiyaan, I feel that as actress, somewhere I have matured. I'm not saying I am 100 per cent there. But one does feel more mature at a certain level. I probably wouldn't have cut my hair for my first film. But now when I was told to do it, I felt it was imperative for the character I was playing. I think it has worked very well. |
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