ARINDAM GANGULY, OP
Actress Neha Mahajan is in the city for the screening of her Hindi movie Gaon in which she plays the lead for the first time. It will be screened at the third Golden Triangle International Film Festival (GTIFF) 2018 Sunday. Neha, who has acted in Midnight Children directed by Deepa Mehta and the British film Feat of Varanasi, has portrayed characters in Marathi, English, Hindi, Malayalam and Oriya movies. Orissa POST spoke to her.
You are the daughter of Sitar artiste Pandit Vidur Mahajan. How did you get into film acting?
I still tour with my father and I am practicing sitar. In fact in the Hindi movie Gaon which will be screened at this festival Sunday I played the role of a sitar artiste, which helped me to understand the character closely. Acting attracts me as I can portray different shades of a character.
Do you have plans to pursue a career in music along with acting?
I have never thought of music as a career. I always loved music from my heart. It helps me relax. I will never play music formoney or any other purpose.
How was this movie role offered to you?
I had done seven Marathi and some English movies. One of them was Midnight Children directed by Deepa Mehta based on a book of the same name written by Salman Rushdie. The director of the movie Gautam Singh watched the movie and called me for the narration. The role of Sango portrayed by me attracted me as the character is also a sitar player. I can also relate to the story as I hail from the small town Talegaon in Maharashtra. The film also tells the story about a village’s beauty and how people can still live freely without the urban system.
How do you like Orissa?
I acted in the short movie Jeeban Sambad directed by Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukathankar a few years back. It was set in an adivasi area and I had the role of a tribal girl. The environment was refreshing and it still has old world charm. I would like to visit tourist spots in Bhubaneswar during my stay here.
You have worked with well known directors and actors like Deepa Mehta, Adil Hussain and Tannishtha Chatterjee? How do you see your career?
Actors get a chance to do many roles. I love meaningful films which gives me the option to explore. Personally, I want to do a biopic on women personalities. For me scripts are of great importance as the story must attract me.
What is your impression about glamorous roles? As an actor I am ready for every role whether it is small or big. For me the script is more important than the role. In the movie Midnight Children my role was very small but I love to portray that character than the mindless role of a girl who is there for song and dance. Nowadays, the scenario is changing and good roles are available for women actors too.
The recent Padmavat controversy had created havoc. You also had your fair share of controversies. What should be the role of the CBFC in your opinion?
The CBFC is a certification board and not a censor. The controversy regarding Padmavaat was wrong. A filmmaker has the right to tell a story, the public has to decide whether they want to see the film or not. The film will be a flop if they don’t like the movie but at least give a fair chance to the filmmaker to present his story. In my Malayalam movie Chaayam Poosiya Veedu (The Painted House) the CBFC did not give a certificate as it had three scenes where the female lead is shown in the nude. The CBFC said the three scenes should be deleted. But the directors refused. As a result, the film released only in Kerela without any cuts.
Is language a barrier in acting? Did you learn any language for movies?
The challenge is to portray emotions remembering the meaning. Keeping in mind the meaning and learning the language is something I enjoy. For Malayalam movies I learnt the language. I have also learnt German. For my Oriya movie I didn’t have to learn Oriya as the movie was a short one
What are your plans?
I have just completed a Marathi movie directed by Mahesh Manjrekar which will be releasing soon. I am now checking out some scripts.
PIC- BIKASH
