BANGALORE: Raima Sen has always been at the receiving end of unfair comparisons ever since her insignificant debut alongside Shabana Azmi in Godmother.
People from the industry were ready to jump to the conclusion that she was decidedly tame. And certain Bengali directors thought she could never measure up to her legendary grandmother, Suchitra Sen. ‘‘She cannot act,’’ they stated, unequivocally. Then came Chokher Bali.
As Ashalatha, the doe-eyed naïve Bengali housewife, Raima stood her ground, giving Aishwarya Rai’s Binodhini some serious competition.
It wasn’t long before Bollywood opened its arms to the coy charmer.
But like good friend, Konkana Sen Sharma, Raima took the road less travelled — short yet significant roles with prominent directors (Parineeta and Daman) and challenging characters, leaving the mainstream glam doll act to the others.
Even when she lists her forthcoming movies — Mirch, Japanese Wife and Teen Patti — you know they are going to be different. When I first catch up with the actress, she’s in Kolkata on a short holiday.
‘‘Far away from the madding crowd with my pet dogs and loads of Jhal muri (Bengali chaat) to binge on,’’ she chortles. Later, Raima tells me that she has finally finished shooting for the long overdue The Japanese Wife with Rahul Bose and is busy with the dubbing.
Too real for comfort Expanding on the Aparna Sen directorial, she says, ‘‘I play a widow. It’s a sweet, improbable love story.’’ As in every Aparna Sen movie, the actors were required to participate in a 15-day mandatory workshop on the sets. ‘‘I really loved it,’’ says the 29-year-old actress. ‘‘In fact, to play this typical Indian housewife, she sent me to Konkana’s house in Mumbai where I learnt to mop floors, make beds, cut vegetables.’’ When I quiz her about Aparna Sen, said to be a hard taskmaster, Raima squeals, ‘‘Aparnadi is like family, I like her methodology. And especially for this role, it really helped me perform better.’’ But when it comes to directors, Rituparno Ghosh is a clear favourite.
‘‘I am more comfortable on his sets.
He is easy to follow and allows me to improvise on the sets,’’ she says.
Hunt for a good PR Why is such a talented actress seen only in off-beat or smaller roles in Bollywood? Raima laughs, ‘‘I am basically laidback and not overly ambitious. You won’t see me SMSing directors and following the ‘‘how I am dying to work with you’’ routine.’’ Almost as an afterthought — ‘‘You also need a smart PR to get noticed in Mumbai.’’ That said, she has done a Telugu film with Teja, and continues to get Tamil and Kannada offers. ‘‘I would love to try Tamil films, as I know that half of good Bollywood films are a copy of South Indian films,’’ she says. But is she really satisfied with her stint in Bollywood? ‘‘I am, trust me. I’ve got the best of offers so far and I think I am only getting better with each film.’’ I must agree. After all, I can’t think of any other actress pulling off that naive yet daring Bengali wife act in Honeymoon Travels PVT.
Appearances can be deceptive But don’t be fooled by the many docile characters she plays on screen. The real Raima, she insists, is a rebel who bunked school and seldom attended college. Despite her lineage — and filmy backg r o u n d , h e r p a r e n t s insisted on sending her and Riya to a strict convent school and insisted on them completing their studies.
It’s another thing that their persistent efforts failed to make any impact on Riya, a school drop out, while Raima completed her English honours at Loreto House School, Kolkata. And while her mother, Moon Moon Sen, was a firebrand actress in her time, Raima admits that she hardly took her advice seriously till Manorama Six Feet happened.
‘‘After its screening, my mom offered some suggestions to improve my performance. I realised that I should have done that in the beginning,’’ she grins.
So what comes into play when she selects her projects? Raima reasons, ‘‘A role should challenge me.
In Bollywood, it is important to create a niche for ourselves if we’re there for the long haul. Besides, I have tried the glamour act in C Kkompany and found it boring.
Give me Honeymoon Travels any day.’’ She is also excited about acting with her sister in Rituparno Ghosh’s next Bengali movie, Nouka Dubi, an adaptation of a Rabindranath Tagore classic.
When I steer the conversation to director Ram Gopal Verma replacing the actress with the ‘‘sexier’’ Neetu Chandra in his new movie, I anticipate a ‘what-rubbish’ outburst.
But Raima calmly nods and says, ‘‘It happens in this industry all the time. Actually the role was not all that big but I signed the movie only for Ram Gopal Verma.
I even gave up a Bengali and Tamil movie to accommodate the dates.
Four days before the shoot, I was told that I didn’t suit the role. It was highly unprofessional of him.’’