PRIYANKA:I wanted to make Roma my own (interview)

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-Anjaani-

@-Anjaani-

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Posted: 14 years ago

I wanted to make Roma my own

Photo: Amey mansabdar

CINEMA

INTERVIEW/PRIYANKA CHOPRA

Back from shooting high-action sequences for Don 2 in Germany to the streets of Mumbai for Agneepath, Priyanka Chopra talks about what it takes to act in a remake.

What is the first thought that comes to your mind when offered roles in cult movie remakes?
It is pretty much the same thought that comes to my mind when I am approached for any film. What is the story and what is my character. In these two instances, I knew the films, but I hadn't really seen them. So for me at that time, I didn't look at them as movies that have already been done. So I also didn't have any additional pressure of having to step into somebody else's shoes. I just saw them as films whose stories I really liked.

You hadn't seen Don and Agneepath before you signed for the remakes?
Quite honestly, I had not seen them earlier. I only saw them right before I started work on the remakes. I grew up watching films like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.

Your character in Agneepath is a newly sketched one. But did you depend on reference points from the original character for Don? Especially since Roma was played by someone as stunning as Zeenat Aman.
You can't really step into the shoes of someone as awesome as Zeenat Aman. What I attempted was to make Roma completely my own while retaining the essence of the character. In Don 2, I have taken that one step further and brought in a lot more of my own inspirations and thoughts of how I wanted her to go forward with the new script.

Often, stars are synonymous with the characters which they have painstakingly created over months of rehearsals and fitness regimes. In which case, isn't it taking away from the bond the two share by coming up with a remake?
No, I don't think so. When you're doing a remake, the only thing similar is the story of the film and not necessarily the characters. Most often than not, the scenes are never replicated in exactly the same way as the original. There is a fresh thought that is added. That applies to the actor and the character as well.

Moving on to your role in Agneepath, it is completely different from the one Madhavi essayed in the original. The only similarity would be their love for Vijay Dinanath Chauhan. How does it feel when you are on the sets and most of your co-stars have a reference point to their characters while you don't?
It is great because then I'm involved in the creation of a character. And then, I don't think anybody on this film really has a reference point because all the characters, even though they come from a film like Agneepath, are being conceived and executed very differently. I don't think that there are any similarities that we are taking as a character, except for the plot point and the story.