Why Neha Dhupia likes mindless films

Neha Dhupia is one model-turned-actress who has had a surprisingly consistent streak of hits. Last year, it was Kya Kool Hai Hum and Garam Masala, albeit they were films in which she didn't have a significant role.

As she prepares for two of her films -- Fight Club and Teesri Aankh -- to hit the marquee this Friday, Neha talks to Raja Sen about her roles, commercial cinema versus serious cinema, and more: Excerpts:

"In Fight Club, I'm just doing a guest appearance opposite Sohail (Khan). My name in the film is Komal, and it's a very sweet role. The film is totally action, and then you get a breather. The little scenes between Sohail and me are like a breath of fresh air between all that blood and gore -- which is very exciting too, for a lot of people.

The second film is called Teesri Aankh, and it's about a very current issue, that of spy cameras. About how one is victimised. I play Sunny Deol's love interest in that film.

I play Sapna in Harry Baweja's film Teesri Aankh. Of course, that's his usual name for heroines! I remember even in Qayamat my name was Sapna, and Urmila's (Matondkar) name in Diljale was Sapna -- so his heroines are always called Sapna!

Sapna is a regular, very normal girl. There's nothing very uncommon about her. It doesn't make it tougher or any simpler, but as soon as you have an understanding of the character, you can play it.

She's not somebody who's schizophrenic or somebody who's gone through trauma in her life or she's not somebody who's a serial killer. For those, you've got to change body language and mannerisms and things. In these cases, more often than not, you play the character the way you would play the situation yourself.

My Siskiyaan character required a deeper understanding. I had to graduate to a certain level to act in that film. I needed to look a certain way, act a certain way. I needed to figure out what her thinking would be like. Thankfully, it worked. There was a lot of appreciation as far as my acting was concerned. People began to take me very seriously after that. I got offered more roles, stronger roles.

It's just that I don't want to do such heavy roles, because I think Indian cinema is all about entertainment. Maybe meaningful roles, but still I feel that basically entertainment is necessary. Mindless films are usually far more entertaining because the audience just comes for a laugh.

And yeah, regular commercial cinema, dancing around trees, is a little easier to do.

You can't be working on a film like Siskiyaan with three other projects going on at the same time, but for a regular commercial film like Teesri Aankh or Fight Club, you could be doing two to three projects at the same time.

As of now, I'm enjoying these films. When I get saturated by commercial films, I'll probably do another film like Siskiyaan. But yes, as a viewer, I really enjoy commercial cinema; so obviously, as an actor, I would love to be a part of one.

Having anything to do with a hit film is great. Even if you're a third assistant to the director or second to the editor, if the film does well, every technician, every actor benefits from it.

The fact is that because of Garam Masala, I got an opportunity to work with Mr Priyadarshan again, and I'm in a new film he's directed that's coming up in the summer.

It's flattering enough that he's reconsidered me, and the fact that my producer, Mr Ratan Jain, has been reconsidering me for a couple of projects. And it's important to have the tag of 'another hit film.'

I've had a couple -- I've had Kya Kool Hai Hum, Qayamat, Julie and Garam Masala -- so at least, on some level, you don't feel demoralised. Whatever you do, people do come and watch it. Otherwise, why would I want to dance with Akshay (Kumar) and John (Abraham) for a brief number and do a couple of scenes and move out of the film?

My intention is that whatever little bit I'm doing should be seen, appreciated. And if (it's) not appreciated, I should know what went wrong, so I can correct it next time.

And so despite the fact that Siskiyaan was a great role and I was very appreciated for it, the film did not do well at the box office. And I am not going to make excuses. I won't tell myself that it was a non-commercial film, because I feel that anything that has commerce attached to it is a commercial product.

Maybe that just wasn't the right time for me to do that film, maybe a couple of years down the line I would do something even more serious, and maybe it'll make sense then.

I was happy with the way the film turned out. As a viewer, I thought the film was a little dry, but that was what the director wanted. Ashwini Chowdhary is a very sensitive director. I could give myself 100 per cent to him.

There was no inhibitions, no holding back, no argument at any level: which is what made it all the more fun. I'm not playing a Neha Dhupia role, I'm a character called Ayesha Shekh and the fact that this character has lived on with me has just made me a little more brave, as far as facing the camera is concerned.

I did have a look at the original, honestly, (Siskiyaan was copied from Roman Polanski's Death And The Maiden) and when I saw her (Sigourney Weaver) do the role, I thought she was phenomenal and I was flattered that I was even being offered it, that my director could put in so much faith in me. I don't know how much I succeeded, but that show of confidence in me really made a difference.

Working with Sunny (Deol) was great. I never really figured out why he was a superstar, and finally after working with him, I realise how great he is. He's so enamouring on the sets, and such a talented actor!

He's also very humble, and that's what makes him special. And, he's always on time. He's very reserved and very polite, a thorough gentleman. You can tell he's been around for a long time. I respect him a lot, and he's a senior, so I'd think twice before romancing him, but it's been really great working with him.

It's a good thing both films are releasing on the same day, and I'm just beginning to get used to the Friday fury now. I'm excited!"