The Free Press Journal

URMILA BELIEVES SHE WAS SEDUCTIVE, BUT NEVER VULGAR

And not vulgar, that’s what Urmila Matondkar believes in, and adds that there is a difference between the two

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From being the bubbly girl in Rangeela to a film star in Mast, from a psycho lover in Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya to her recent appearance in the song Bewafa beauty — Urmila Matondkar has never failed to prove three strong elements as an actress in her career — power of acting, unmatched dancing skill and image of being desirable.

A VERY THIN LINE

The actress says as a woman, she always finds the tough but right chord to be seductive and not vulgar as the line is very thin. “Being seductive is a part of womanhood and if a woman feels it strongly as a part of her personalit­y, it is never represente­d in a wrong way. There is a very thin line between being seductive and vulgar, but it comes from the performer. I think I never fell in the grey area or went over the top, because I am a strong-headed actor and I feel seductive as a woman. So whatever bold dance that I performed on-screen, it never looked vulgar,” Urmila said.

TRYING SOMETHING NEW

While objectifyi­ng women in an ‘item song’ has been common practice in most of the mainstream Bollywood films, it is very interestin­g how Urmila’s last released song Bewafa beauty from the film Blackmail, teases the intellect of a man in the film. “Wasn’t that fun to watch?” Urmila laughed out loud. Lyrically and contextual­ly, the song is very interestin­gly put out and I liked that part. Having said that it was not my conscious decision to be a part of this song, but I was just trying out something very different that has not happened in the recent past,” said the actress, known for some superhit dance numbers like Hai rama, Tanha tanha, Chamma chamma and Ruki Ruki.

THERE’S A DIFFERENCE

In times of social media, several actresses who wear bikinis and bold outfits get criticism. Asked if people are becoming over critical and bully actors, Urmila said, “Yes, that is happening. But in the era of social media, when we are putting out our videos, photos for promotiona­l purpose and giving our audience a chance to share their opinion, we should expect both good and bad. Otherwise, one shouldn’t put it out there at the first place. Having said that there is a difference between constructi­ve criticism and personal attack. As actors, we should identify that before considerin­g the opinion. One should never take the latter to their heart, never”, she added.

NO PLANS YET

Urmila’s career has been a mix of films in the commercial­ly successful space as well as those with strong content with titles like Bas Ek Pal, Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara and Pinjar. Was it a conscious decision to balance out both kind of cinema? “Not really, because for me, every character that I play is an experience. So, the criteria were to try out something that I have never done before... Then of course overall story, the director... But it was never a strategy to balance out commercial and art house cinema. It was never that. Look, our film industry now is going through a transition where some films are made on a middle-aged woman. I think it is a combinatio­n of what the audience wants to watch and what makers can deliver. I do not think there is any dearth of stories, but with the success of each film, makers will gain confidence to make more films on women of all ages,” said the actor, who is not really planning for her next film outing with any filmmaker soon.

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