From The Terrorist where you played an intense role to the light, romantic role in Outsourced, how has the journey been so far?
I have always enjoyed doing something different and so, even though it was not a conscious exercise to avoid typecasting, I have ended up doing work that is pretty varied. I guess when I did The Terrorist, I was very lucky to be offered that film, because there was a synchronicity between the kind of film Santosh Sivan wanted to make and the kind of film I was interested in. I then did a lot of other films and have recently been doing a lot of comedies. I always feel sort of honoured to be asked to do comedies because people who write them are very bright. I really enjoyed the script of Outsourced and knew immediately that I wanted to do the film.
Tell us how did you land the role in Outsourced and how was it working with Josh Hamilton?
I remember meeting the director and producer of the film and though we got on well and I thought the meeting went nicely too, I was asked to come back to read the script with Josh Hamilton. When I went back, I dressed like the character I play in the film in every detail, down to the shoes and watch I was wearing. I got so involved in putting this character together that it only occurred to me at the last minute that my idea might be totally different from theirs. They told me later that, that was the thing, which made them make up their minds, and when I went to meet them again, they saw me as Asha, the girl in the script. I really enjoyed reading with Josh and we had a very good working relationship right from that first reading. I loved how natural and relaxed his style is, and really enjoyed his sense of humour.
Having done a variety of roles so far, what are you looking at now?
I still like playing real people, and find them endlessly interesting as characters. This year, I have played a Naxalite in a film called Red Alert, a girl from Bihar who wants to be an airhostess in Mumbai Chakachak, and a socialite who will do anything to be an actress in British film, Mad, Sad And Bad. Now I am playing a good girl, who gets mixed up with a guy with a troubled past in the British soap Coronation Street.
What kind of offers are you getting from global cinema?
I am sent a few scripts every month and I read everything very carefully. I love working with first-time directors, but I also love working with people who I have worked with before, to see how they are getting on and how they have developed and changed. I am sent a wide variety of scripts because invariably someone remembers a performance in something they saw, and send you a script according to that. I am still surprised to be considered for musicals! What I have found recently is that people want me to be involved at the very early stages of a project, which I really love, but then I am also asked what I think about certain casting choices and that makes me very nervous.
How is it working in the popular soap Coronation Street?
A soap opera, Coronation Street has run for forty-eight years, and is watched by 17 million people a week, so it is interesting when I get on a train or go to the supermarket. People are very friendly but they treat me like the character in the soap. So now I have got used to getting relationship advice from taxi-drivers, supermarket check-out girls, traffic wardens, priests and grannies. It’s very strange. I am lucky to play someone they like. There have been stories of people being shouted at and threatened when they do bad things in the series!
What is your take on the kind of Bollywood films that are being made now?
I am very excited by the films that are being made recently. I am and always will be interested in the unusual films, but I love the fact that the industry as a whole is opening up in terms of the variety of film that is available. I really want to see more of films like A Wednesday or Jaane Tu Ya... Jaane Na.
Would you like to be part of it and what kind of roles would you like to do?
I would love to be a part of Hindi films because first and foremost I am a fan. I love all kinds of film, and my life revolves around watching movies. On the plane tomorrow morning I am looking forward to an eight-hour flight, because I can watch three films back to back!
