‘TIRED OF SENSUOUS ROLES, WAITED FOR THE RIGHT SCRIPT’

Mahie Gill is satisfied with her career so far, and is hungry for good work

Mahie Gill’s filmography boasts of films such as Dev.D (2009) and the Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster franchise among others and, in many of her projects, she plays the sensuous woman. While she has earned plaudits for these roles, they have also typecast her.

“Every time a role is offered to me, it’s that of a sensuous woman... they think saree pehenni hai ya intimate scenes karwane hain, Mahie ko bula lo. I was very tired of all that, and was waiting for the right script. My recent project was a slice-of-life film, very close to reality with a tinge of nostalgia,” she says.

Ask if this means she won’t do such roles ever again, she clarifies, “Not that I hate these kind of roles. I would love to do them again, but it’s just that I needed a break. It got a bit too much. I have been refusing films like anything, but then as an actor, I have to work. Last year, thankfully I got different roles.”

It’s said that refusing a role or a film can often end up upsetting the people involved, and hamper an actor’s career. But the 44-year-old feels it’s more important to choose the right role. “For me, it is easy. I am a very satisfied person, koi bahut badi icchhaayein nahin hain meri. I am only hungry for good work, that’s why I don’t do too much of it. It needs to be interesting. I can sign any film, but if I don’t like the character or the script, I will go on the set and the producer’s money will be wasted. You yourself will get irritated. It doesn’t make sense. It’s better to wait for something interesting. Time aa gaya hai when you can choose good scripts,” she says.

Not that I hate these kind of roles. I would love to do them again, but it’s just that I needed a break. I have been refusing films but then as an actor, I have to work. MAHIE GILL ACTOR