beginning of a new innings
My joy knew no bounds when I was offered the role of the protagonist in Nagesh Kukoonoor’s Laxmi. It was quite a learning experience to work with the veteran filmmaker. From the moment I heard the script of the film which was based on prostitution, there were no apprehensions in my mind neither had my family any objections. Today, am happy to have done it. In fact with all the praises coming my way, I feel happy and content. My father felt very proud and he became emotional watching it. And since he is my hero and inspiration, it meant a lot.
Playing the protagonist
The role left me depressed for a long time. As Laxmi is a silent, sober character I took extra care not to overdo emotions. I never met any victim of child trafficking. I was expected to look like a 14-year-old that Nagesh Sir had in mind. I had no make-up so I had to take extra care of my skin to make it look younger. Besides, I also lost 20 kgs for the film (chuckles).
From singing to acting
All performing art forms are related to one another. I started my acting career with a Bengali serial and now I am on the big screen. As I come from a family of musicians, music is everywhere around me. But I had my share of struggle. My stint with Indian Idol didn’t help me in terms of training. But it helped me get a number of stage shows.
zara zara to Sanwar Loon:
After Pritam offered me Zara Zara Touch Me for Race, the industry offered me more such songs. One gets typecast here very easily. But I am thankful to Amit Trivedi who game me a song like Sanwar loon. It was semi-classical and very melidious in its feel and I loved singing it.
Love for music, acting
Of course I will continue singing. It is my life. But I also want to focus on Bollywood for now. I am in talks with other directors.
Upcoming movie Mango
I’m currently working in Abbas Tyrewala’s Mango. In the film, I am playing the role of a chirpy, wicked girl and it was really fun working with Rannvijay and Swara Bhaskar. The song that I sung for Mango is also one of my favourites. The film will be released after this season of IPL gets over.