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| Boho to belle | |
| Sushama Reddy's shrugged off her model image to play a village belle. She flashes those dimples and recalls how her co-stars thwarted all her attempts at being serious | |
| Deepa Karmalkar | |
| How much screen space have you negotiated for yourself in Priyadarshan's Chup Chup Ke, with Kareena Kapoor and Neha Dhupia as screen partners? We all know that the hallmark of a Priyan film is that all the characters are well-etched and it's an honour for an actor to negotiate an appearance. There's a love triangle between Shahid, Kareena and myself. It is a tragi-comedy with scope for a good performance. Like your debut film Chocolate, are you be playing another hottie in Chup Chup Ke? Oh no, I play a simple village belle, Pooja, who is deeply in love with Shahid. She's completely devoted to him and can't see beyond him. I kept marvelling that I could pull it off.
I sport a very simple look with minimal make-up, togged in a salwar kameez. I also have poker straight hair in the film. What made Priyan cast you in a conservative role? Didn't you send him the right pictures? I didn't have to send him any pictures. A year and a half ago, I spotted him at the airport, introduced myself and we got chatting. While casting for Chup Chup Ke, when my name came up, he recalled our little meeting and gave me the green light. After debuting as a bohemian Londoner in Chocolate, this role must have come as a complete surprise... When they narrated the role to me, you bet I was shocked. I found it challenging to play a role so far removed from my true self. Being a raw actor, I would drive Priyan sir crazy with my queries. I was given my lines 40 minutes prior to the shoot, so I had enough time to rehearse. I went in with great confidence and delivered my lines without a hitch. I was mighty pleased with myself and when Priyan sir said ''cut,'' I expected a big pat on the back. He just called me over and explained that acting is not about mouthing lines, it is about feeling the role. He fired the writer for giving me my lines so early and insisted that I be given my dialogues only ten minutes before, to retain the spontaneity of my performance. He's a classroom of acting. Didn't you get ragged or intimidated by veterans like Paresh Rawal and Anupam Kher ? No, not at all. I'm not a cry baby, in fact, most of the times, I can't control my laughter. But in order to play the tearful, emotional role I would listen to sad and depressing music to get into the mood. I would arrive suitably depressed and Anupamji or Pareshji would crack a joke and have me flashing my 32! The film is about a speech-challenged girl. Has that changed your outlook towards the speech impaired? Hats off to Kareena for pulling off the role, it's very difficult to emote while gesticulating with your hands. I realised that in India, it's very tough for a girl to be handicapped. The trauma weighs heavy on you all your life. We are in a privileged position and we take our well-being for granted. Have you signed on Mahesh Manjrekar's next? Yes, it's called Big Bazaar and it is about how big malls coming up on mill lands affect the workers. It is a tight, fast moving script laced with dark humour. |
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