INTERVIEW WITH NANDANAS SEN - II

Who : Nandana Sen
About : Indian Actress, Daughter of Amartya Sen
Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nandana_Sen


How it happened : Interview with Nandana Sen
Interview Date: November 2007
Place: N/A (Interview taken over email)
Pics: None

With typically Bengali good looks and a talent to match, Nandana Sen is no “stranger” to the Hindi Film Industry. After creating waves in International cinema with a number of critically acclaimed films, she moved to mainstream Bollywood with Tango Charlie. Nandana, who also happens to be the daughter of Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, talks exclusively about her latest commercial venture, the thriller Strangers.

Nikhil Taneja (NT): Tell us something about your upcoming release, "Strangers".
Nandana Sen(NS):"Strangers' is a beautiful but strange movie. The story is about two strangers who meet together, about two people falling in love in a strange land. It has lot of complexity, it has suspense, it's a thriller but not a complete thriller, and it's a combination of different genre above all it's a deeply emotional film.

NT: What character you

are playing in "Strangers"?
NS: I am playing a character called Priety who is from London, she is looking for love. She is very successful, passionate and a royal girl, who falls deeply in love. There are certain ups and downs in her relationship. The character is very much real. Actually you can't categorize her; she has elements of different personality traits. She is consistent, somewhere she is really tough to handle sometimes she is beautiful. In short Priety is confident, carefree, successful and sarcastic character; she is not a typical doll like character. There is enough warmth in the character.

NT: It’s been said that the movie “Strangers” is inspired by the classic Hollywood movie, “Strangers on a Train”?
NS: Whenever I choose a film I always look at how original the script is. Though everyone would feel it is 'Strangers on a train', far from it, it is different in the real sense of the word. Though in a way, It's a tribute to "Strangers in the Train", as the story takes off in the train, STRANGERS is different as cha

lk is to cheese in the overall concept. It's an extraordinary script.

NT: You have acted alongside Jimmy Shergill and Kay Kay Menon for the first time in this movie. How was the experience?
NS: It was a wonderful experience working with them. Jimmy is a great guy, sharing screen with him was great and was very easy to work with him. He has a given a wonderful performance in the film. Kay Kay is a wonderful, disciplined actor and a very nice guy. Kay Kay is extremely talented. I adore Jimmy because he is really sweet; he is very friendly and generous. One thing I have noticed about Jimmy that is he is a great singer, he sings beautifully.

NT: And how was it working with debutant director Anand L Rai ?
NS: Anand L Rai is a fantastic director and a great guy and has given me the chance to do improvisation in my character. He is very talented, sensitive, emotional and a nice man. He has a generous vision of world and human nature. One hand he is great director and the other hand he has a great vision of cinema. He has done many television serials so he is very comfortable with actors. Before the film Anand was a stranger to me now that I have done the film he has become a family to me.

NT: Tell us something about the music of “Strangers”
NS: Music of the film is melodious. Sometimes music can be obstacle if it is not used in the right manner but the music of our films play a critical part. Music of "Strangers" evokes emotions .

NT: Could you tell us about your other upcoming projects, besides “Strangers”?
NS: Besides "Strangers" I have "Forest" and right now I am doing "Colours Of Passion"----- it's a film based on the love story of painter Raja Ravi Sharma. I am playing the character of Shantabai. It's a historical character where I may be looked upon as Shakuntala, Sita, Laxmi and

Draupadi. I have done many research on the film, read books on his paintings "Forest" is an international film, it's a love triangle where I am playing a character called "Radha" who is a very tough girl. It was great playing that role. It's a story of one night stand in the forest.

NT: So what strategy do you follow in your career that makes you choose a particular film?

NS: I don't have a specific strategy about my career that I have to do 'this' film or 'that' film. I just go by what seems interesting. I enjoy every bit of the film I do.

My only strategy is not to get typecast. For me it is important to do a different type of a movie every time. This will help me to learn more things as an actor. I don't think about the film I always go by my gut feelings.

NT: Apart from acting, we’ve heard you keep yourself quite busy with lots of hobbies?
NS: I love to read and write poems. I write a lot. I also love to listen to Rabindra sangeet that is Tagore's songs. I also love listening to old Hindi film songs and jazz music. I love collecting old Hindi film cds. I do yoga three times in a week. I love dancing so I have learnt Ballet, Manipuri dance and modern dancing.

NT: Finally how would you define "Strangers" in one line?
NS: If I would have to describe the film in one line, I would say "Strangers" beautifully walks in between the good and the bad lines.

Courtesy: Raindrop Media

© Nikhil Taneja (nikhiltaneja@gmail.com)

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