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Shahana speaks on ‘natural balance of roles’

When it comes to my character in ‘The Last Hour’, where I play an investigating police officer, it was about the contribution of the character in the narrative…Shahana speaks with Arunduti Banerjee.

Shahana Goswami is a familiar face to most of us, as she started her career in childhood. When omes to my character in ‘The Last Hour’, where I play an investigating police officer, it was about the contribution of the character in the narrative…Shahana speaks with Arunduti Banerjee.

Actress Shahana Goswami feels web shows have ushered better quality of writing, which in turn creates scope for actors like her to prove their versatility.

In her latest show “The Last Hour”, Shahana plays a police officer who, along with another male counterpart, sets out to unravel a murder mystery. Did she feel she was a strong female character in the otherwise male-dominated world of the story?

“I think when something is well written, there’s a natural balance about the portrayal of each character in it. When I am saying balance, it means we do not need to highlight a character only because he is a male or a female character but giving substantial space for each of them. When it comes to my character in ‘The Last Hour’, where I play an investigating police officer, it was about the contribution of the character in the narrative. So, no, I did not feel like I am one of the strong females in the men’s world,” Shahana told.

Starting her film career in 2006, Shahana has mostly made her mark in indie films like “Firaaq”, “Mirch”, “Midnight’s Children”, “Tu Hai Mera Sunday” and “Gali Guliyan”, and has also featured in mainstream Bollywood entertainers such as “Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.”, “Rock On!!” and “Break Ke Baad”.

The actress has also featured in web series such as “A Suitable Boy” and “Bombay Begums”, where the stories revolved around women. She emphasises on how the web series as a format has opened the door for actors of all ages that was not the scene in films.

“Since writing has taken centre-stage in web shows, every actor is coming by virtue of merit. Since the number of shows and web films has increased, it’s not just a few known faces that you see in these shows.

Shahana Goswami (IANS)

I think it is quite a fair ground to play for actors, I do not think it is competitive. Rather, the web space is actually celebrating talent. All that is possible because of good writing that focuses on storytelling instead of the pressure that a film has — as in within two hours we have to give everything to our audience,” she said.

“Here, people will watch it araam se (at leisure). A show can be watched after 15 days or a month of release and feedback of our work can start pouring based on word of mouth, not within the first weekend. I think that is why for us this is the newfound space to explore and celebrate talent,” explained Shahana.

“The Last Hour”, also featuring Sanjay Kapoor, streams on Amazon Prime Video.

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Elli speaks on ‘India lessons’

The actress is originally from Stockholm, Sweden, and says that her experiences in India have contributed to shaping her personality in a big way…reports Asian Lite News.

Bollywood is a dream for many youngsters. Actress Elli AvrRam, who moved to India at a young age to pursue her dream of becoming a Bollywood actress, says that her stay here has taught her a lot.

The actress is originally from Stockholm, Sweden, and says that her experiences in India have contributed to shaping her personality in a big way.

“The struggle have truly been worth it, I’m so proud of myself for taking the step and leap of faith, to move to India at a young age, because it has truly shaped me into a person that has so many more perspectives and understandings about life and it’s different situations. I’ve learnt so much living in India, and I feel blessed about it,” she told.

Meanwhile, the actress, who has been seen in films such as “Malang” and “Mickey Virus”, says that she is glad about the way her career has shaped up.

“In regards to my place in Bollywood, I have not only the filmmakers who have believed in me, to thank, but also the Indian audience who accepted, appreciated and supported me and keeps doing it. Without their love I wouldn’t be where I am today,” she says.

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Rasika relies on her instincts on picking roles

She says that a lot of male writers tend to make the women in their stories very nice.

Rasika is an actress who got many opportunities in the OTT trend. Rasika has always been known for essaying strong characters. However, she says that there was a time when she got bored of playing the same roles.

The actress adds that sometime back she was only offered roles of women who were “morally upright” and she never found them to be very realistic.

“For the longest time, I felt that the kind of roles that I was being offered were morally upright. You don’t usually see that in life,” she told.

She says that a lot of male writers tend to make the women in their stories very nice.

“A lot of men writing women characters do this disservice. They make the characters very nice. I was a tad bored with it. I was missing complexity. But then, I got several roles that were were different. I am totally enjoying this phase,” she says.

Rasika adds that she has never tried to find out why she has been accepted or rejected for a role.

“Why you are or are not approached is something I don’t know about. I am happy to be oblivious to this. If I find out why someone takes or rejects an actor, I will quit this career. I would rather be oblivious and delusional rather than sit and worry what people think,” she says.

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She adds that she heavily relies on her instincts while choosing roles.

“I approach every role instinctively and I don’t believe in labelling a role as strong or weak. I am uncomfortable with that as that’s not how I saw it. I saw it with moments of weakness and strength,”A she says.

The actress has been seen in series such as “Out of Love”, “Delhi Crime” and “Mirzapur”. She has also been part of movies such as “Lootcase”, “Tu Hai Mera Sunday” and “Hamid”.

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Kriti to try challenging roles

The actress, who made her Bollywood debut with “Heropanti” (2014) reflects on the projects she has done in the last few years that have helped her get a strong footing in the industry…writes Yashika Mathur

Kriti got the opportunity to handle a number of roles in the recent years. Actress Kriti Sanon will play diverse characters in upcoming films such as “Bhediya”, “Mimi” and “Adipurush”. She feels now she is in a position to try something different and challenging.

“When you establish yourself a bit and people are liking you and the film is doing the numbers that you want to do, it gives you confidence to take up something challenging. I feel as an actor you also get bored repeating yourself and the audience also gets bored seeing you in same kinds of films. Yes, there is a deliberate attempt to try do something different and not repeat yourself,” she tells.

She adds: “I have also been lucky enough to have liked scripts that belong to different genres. If tomorrow there are two horror comedies I am loving, I would do both. It is a nice feeling for me to do something different and not repeat myself.”

The actress, who made her Bollywood debut with “Heropanti” (2014) reflects on the projects she has done in the last few years that have helped her get a strong footing in the industry.

“Bareilly (Ki Barfi) was a milestone because someone believed in me and that was (director) Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, (co-writer) Nitesh (Tiwari) sir and Dinesh (Vijan) who was the producer. They believed that I could play Bittu in the film. I feel that you have to have belief in an actor rather than the characters, or how I look at the red carpet. They had that belief and I am glad that they did. That film was so out of the box from what I had done. It gave me the opportunity of coming away from hair, make-up and songs, to getting into something that was de-glam and I just enjoyed the characters. After that 99 per cent characters I have been offered were from small towns,” says recalls Kriti.

She also credits her 2019 film “Lukka Chuppi” for giving a much-needed boost.

“With ‘Luka Chuppi’ doing well, I got confidence to take risk. ‘Panipat’ was one film where Ashu sir (Ashutosh Gowariker) pushed me so good. The character could have gone missing and I think he did push me beyond where I could take myself as an actor. I was very surprised when I got the feedback. When I was shooting I didn’t know that this character could be so strong,” she says.

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Trolls have no place in Sonakshi’s life

She adds that trolls are only people who hide behind their phones and spread negativity. They have no place in her life…writes Anjuri Nayar Singh.

Actress Sonakshi Sinha says that she doesn’t pay much heed to trolls. The actress adds that there was a point when what they said would really bother her, but it does not anymore.

“There used to be a time where I used to get really bothered by what is being said about me on social media by trolls and would react as well. But now I have reached a point where it doesn’t affect me at all and I have learned to move on,” she told.

She adds that trolls are only people who hide behind their phones and spread negativity. They have no place in her life.

“These guys sitting behind their phones and constantly spewing negativity aren’t important to me. My fans have been extremely supportive and that’s what matters. I have always been myself on social media and I will continue to keep it ‘asli’,” she says.

Meanwhile, Bollywood had a tough time last year due to the pandemic. Theatres were closed down and film shoots were halted. Sonakshi says that because of this situation OTT has grown, but a theatrical experience will always be special for her.

“Lockdown brought a lot of movies closer to viewers because of their digital releases, which has been great, and OTT viewership is definitely huge right now. But watching a movie on the big screen has a different charm altogether,” she says.

Now that work has resumed, Sonakshi says that it is important to be as careful as possible on the film set.

“It’s different but I guess everyone adapts when required. It’s your responsibility to be more cautious and to take all necessary precautions, especially when you’re working with so many people. Each person has to be responsible for the sake of the entire unit, and their family,” she says.

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Meanwhile, the actress has a slew of projects planned and is looking forward to taking on meaningful work.

“I want to continue doing great work that makes me happy. It could be on OTT or theatrical, the content matters for me. Currently, I am finishing my show for Amazon Prime produced by Excel and Tiger Baby. I also have ‘Bhuj: The Pride Of India’, which is up for release. A couple of other projects are being discussed. So, there is a lot of exciting stuff coming up!” she says.

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