‘If I don't offer anything new, the audience will lose interest’
The actor feels that it is important to preserve one’s acting skills for the right kind of work, so that when such an offer arrives, she is fresh to accept it
Actor Neha Dhupia has tried her hand at a variety of roles in the 17 years she’s been a part of Bollywood — from playing a dacoit in Phas Gaye Re Obama (2010) to a sex-worker in Julie (2004). Comedy films, too, have been aplenty in her career, such as De Dana Dan (2009) and Singh Is Kinng (2008). Ask her if she’s satisfied with the kind of roles she got till date, and Neha says, “I’ve come a long way, and there’s a long way to go. There is no timeline. It’s not like times have changed, or just because I have become a mum, the industry has changed, or roles will change. My choices will have to be appropriate to what I think is good enough. I need to give myself enough credit. The last thing I did before I became a mom was pick up an award for Tumhari Sulu (2017). Why should I not give myself enough credit?”
The 39-year old is a good example of how an outsider in Bollywood has managed to make a mark on the basis of her talent, without any connections. Neha says that initially that was the toughest challenge for her. She recalls, “When I look back, I wish I had a guiding light to tell me, ‘These are the projects you should say ‘no’ because a couple of films I did, if I could, I would have skipped them in my filmography.They didn’t
NEHA DHUPIA
It has been over a year since Aayush Sharma made his Bollywood debut with LoveYatri (2018) and currently, he is busy shooting for his next film,which is expected to release this year. Interestingly, there were even talks of him being part of a Marathi film remake, which didn’t materialise.
Ask Aayush what took him time to bag his second project, Kwatha, and the actor sounds unperturbed saying that he wanted it to be different from his first film.“I didn’t want to rush into things. As an actor, if there is nothing new I can offer, then the audience might lose interest in me. With this film, people will add value to me or my films, I was adding value to them. When you don’t have a guiding light, you come around and understand. I know I will be there when somebody needs me.”
Value addition is still her criteria while choosing films.“I won’t do a film now if it doesn’t add value to me. I have a sense of maturity towards my career. As an actor, you shouldn’t waste yourself…let me rephrase, as an actor you should preserve yourself. When the good job comes your way, you should be fresh, you should be enriched. Even if the work is less, it should be of the right kind,” says Neha. get to watch me in a new avatar,” says Aayush, who stars with Katrina Kaif’s sister Isabelle Kaif in the film that marks her Bollywood debut.
But isn’t taking so much time a risk given that out of sight means out of mind? “When I sit for a reading session, the first criteria is whether I want to tell the story or not. Kwatha is based on real life events, and I could connect. I play an army officer in the film and I’ve been working on my physique. This is different from LoveYatri where I had a chocolate boy image,” he adds.
While Aayush goes by his “gut and instinct”, he does “run the ideas” by Salman (Khan) before taking up a project. “Bhai knows so much and is supportive. So, once I like an idea, I discuss it with him. He had once explained how at the end of the day, we all have our own journey and I know I need to choose my way, make mistakes, taste success and slowly discover myself in the way. That’s important. So, he’s there for better clarity, but the journey is mine,” says Aayush, adding, “I want to continue experimenting with new things. There’s enough time in hand, so, I would rather take time to do good work than other way round.”
ACTOR
Shreya Mukherjee
Shreya Mukherjee
AAYUSH STARS WITH KATRINA KAIF’S SISTER ISABELLE KAIF IN THE FILM THAT MARKS HER BOLLYWOOD DEBUT
Mugdha Godse prospered in the world of fashion and had a successful stint as a model. However, when she switched to acting, things weren’t as smooth as she would’ve expected. Instead, she faced a lot of rejections before getting her first break. While some said that she’s “too dusky”, some found her “too tall” and even referred to her face as “unconventional”. And, not just acting, Mugdha was told that she doesn’t fit the part at auditions for commercials as well.
“The casting team would say, ‘We need a fair actor or we’re looking for a shorter person. We are looking for a conventional face, someone like a heroine material.’ After so many instances, it started to sound like a joke,” shares Mugdha.
However, after spending over a decade in the world of showbiz, the 33-year-old feels that the film industry has become much more acceptable towards dusky actors with unconventional looks. “Some actors are doing the best of the work. So, getting back on the radar and saying, ‘Oh we were here first who tried to break the stereotype’, and that we’ve gone through a lot of struggle is disappointing. It’s part and parcel. Sometimes, you arrive early and at times, things take time to change. It’s also to do with luck,” she opines.
After her successful debut with Madhur Bhandarkar’s Fashion (2008), Mugdha would get flooded with glamorous role. “We were always the glamour dolls and whenever there was a need for actors who were too sexy or can do bold scenes, our names would always come first — be it the character of a prostitute or a model. The makers wouldn’t consider us to be the girl next
MUGDHA GODSE
Sangeeta Yadav
Ever since Sanjay Gagnani shifted from Delhi to Mumbai to pursue his acting dreams, the only thing that has been there on his mind is to be a Bollywood hero. But after years of struggle and having worked in films such as Rakhtbeej and Heroine (both in 2012) besides a string of popular TV shows, Sanjay has realised that it isn’t really important to just play a Bollywood hero.
“What matters the most is to entertain the audience and touch their hearts with your performances. There are so many actors in films who might not have played the lead or the typical hero, yet they’ve won audiences’ hearts,” he says.
Sanjay has earned a fan following with his small screen presence in shows such as Bairi Piya, Hamari Devrani, Veera among others and plans to venture out in the digital space, too. “While working on TV, I didn’t get much time to experiment in films or on the web, but now, I want to door in their films,” she says. .
But the actor is quick to add that she has no qualms in playing glamorous roles on screen, just that she has defined certain limits for herself. “I’m not comfortable doing too many bold scenes. I treat
2020 like a T20 cricket match. I want to hit the ball out of the stadium with good work in the digital space and films,” says the actor, who became a household name with his show Kundali Bhagya.
Keen to pace up his acting career, Sanjay is in talks with casting directors and hopes to get something interesting. “Whatever I do, I strive to bring in conviction to all the scenes written for me and add value to my project. I’m going to work even harder now, and I want to step into web space and do films as well. Rest I’ll leave it to destiny,” he says. do what I feel is comfortable for me, while flaunting my glamorous side. I made the most of it, and I’m quite happy to be able to do work in films that I believe in,” says Mugdha.