INTERVIEW WITH TANUSHREE DUTTA - II

Who : Tanushree Dutta
About : Actress, former Model, Miss India Universe 2004

Website: http://www.tanushreedutta.org/ (fan site)

How it happened : Interview with Tanushree Dutta
Interview Date: September, 2007
Place: N/A (Interview taken over phone)
Pics: None

She's an ex beauty queen who is steadily finding her foothold in the industry. Having done a variety of diverse roles including a negative lead in Raqeeb which got her immense praise, Tanushree Dutta has recently come out with two movies, Dhol and Speed, one a laugh a minute comedy by the king of comedies, Priyadarshan and the other an action flick by Vikram Bhatt. In an exclusive interview with Young Times, she talks candidly about both movies among other things..

Nikhil Taneja (NT) : From Ashiq Banaya Apne to Dhol. How has the journey been so far?
Tanushree Dutta (TD) : It has been a fabulous journey. I think I have found my foothold in the industry. I have thoroughly enjoyed it. And I think I have grown as an industry. And the film industry has also been very appreciative of my work, so that’s been really nice.

NT : You play the female lead opposite as many as four guys in your latest, Dhol. Tell us more about the movie and your role of Ritu in it.
TD : Well it’s a fun filled movie. It’s a comedy film. And I play a very simple small town girl but she’s very rich and all the four boys are trying to marry her so that even they can become rich. And because of their attempts to impress her, they do a lot of unintentional comedy because of this. That’s basically the gist of the film.

NT : How easy or difficult was the experience of working opposite 4 prankster guys?
TD : It wasn’t difficult. This is the first time I am doing a full fledged comedy film so it was a fabulous experience working with them and seeing how they work because most of them, Kunal, Sharman, Tusshar, Rajpal Yadav, they have all done comedies before. I was doing it for the first time. So they were very cooperative and very well behaved and very well disciplined and usually very serious and committed to their work. So that made it quite easy and a great experience.

NT : Who was the most fun to work with?
TD : I think all four of them. I got off very well with all four of them. I think they were people who are very serious about their work and they had the sincerity and dedication that makes them great actors and great people to work with.

NT : How different is the experience of working with Priyadarshan as compared to the other directors?
TD : I think it was a really good experience for me because Priyan sir is a maestro at comedy. He has made so many hit and popular comedy films in the past. And I learnt a thing or two about comic timing. He only issues precise instructions to actors for a particular scene so that’s quite a great help.

NT : What sets Dhol apart from Priyadarshan’s other comic capers?
TD : I think the public would see that in this film there is a lot of difference. I don’t want to say anything and just let the public see it for themselves. In fact, it’s got a bit of a suspense angle also to it, so that makes it all the more interesting.

NT : Any interesting moments or incidents during the shooting that you’d like to recollect for the readers?

TD : Uhh.. I remember some of the scenes were not shot on the sets and were shot on location. So it used to be very funny when some of our neighbours used to come out when we were shooting for the film along with on the streets who would stop by and see the scenes and start laughing! I would sometimes go on the sets even when I wasn’t required for a particular scene just to see the guys shooting.

NT : Your favourite Dhol moment.
TD : I think there is one scene in which all four boys start slapping each other. That was quite a spontaneous scene and it made me laugh quite hard!

NT : You have shot quite a few scenes in Pune where you had done your college.Was it nostalgic for you shooting there?
TD : Yes, it was quite nostalgic. I got an opportunity to use my free time to meet a lot of my college friends. I even met a few friends I had lost touch with since my high school days. And it was such a wonderful experience, you know, I had enough time to catch up with them and talk about old times (smiles).

NT : You have also worked in the out and out action film, Speed. Where did you fit in the scheme of things?
TD : It was fun working in an action film but I didn’t get to do any action in it. My role in that film is that of a simple and sweet girlfriend. I play Zayed’s love interest and there is a lot of chemistry and camaraderie between mine and Zayed’s character. I keep scolding him for all the wrong things he keeps doing in the film. That’s how our characters are. Zayed does the action in the film, I didn’t get to do any!

NT : Speed has been delayed quite a lot and the time gap between shoots shows in the scenes. What do you think are the film’s prospects at this stage?
TD : I have no clue really. I have been waiting since quite a long time for the film to release and I have no clue how the prospects will get affected. I am just hoping for the best, you know.

NT : Everyone’s talking about your recent tryst with the gym and you learning kathak and your fitness is being widely appreciated now. What was the point which made you realize you haven’t been giving time to yourself?
TD : Uhh… I think I would say that after I entered movies, I suddenly got so busy that I had very little time on hand to take care of myself and I was always shooting or always traveling or always jet setting. My life became a mad rush. That’s when I decided that I must organize myself and get into a fitness regime as well. So, one day, I decided to put everything in order and I saw the results after that. I have got quite a bit of appreciation for that (smiles).

NT : Has your learning Kathak come in handy for any of your future projects as yet?
TD : Well, I am sure it would. Because any kind of training in any kind of dance form never goes waste. So I don’t think my learning kathak will go waste since there is a lot of energy and stamina required for it. And there is a lot of grace in the movements as well. So I am sure it would definitely come in handy. It was actually more out of personal interest that I wanted to learn Kathak but it is definitely an added bonus and would help me in my future assignments as well.

NT : You have recently signed an action film targeted at children. The concept sounds very interesting. Could you tell us something more about it?
TD : Yeah, I have signed that film. It’s with a new director. But I can’t reveal much about the cast and crew at this stage. You’ll have to wait for the official announcement for that. But as for the movie, I play the role of a kind of wonder woman in the movie. It’s an out and out children’s film. It is not a regular movie, it is something that the children will love and family audiences will love. I do a lot of action in the movie and it is something I have enjoyed a lot. His is one of the movies I will always treasure in my collection of movies. If I talk more about it, the surprise element will go. So I don’t want to talk more about it and spoil that.

NT : You have essayed a variety of different roles very early in your career, even playing a negative character in Raqeeb which not many actresses would have gone for. What kind of roles are you looking forward to now?
TD : I don’t know. Maybe something which has a little bit of action in it. The children’s film I spoke about has that action so I am looking forward to shooting for it. I like action and I think I’ll do pretty good in such a film. I also want to essay another negative role, perhaps something even more negative than that I had essayed in Raqeeb. I could use my experience in Raqeeb to portray such roles. I want to do as diverse roles as possible.

NT : You were also offered to sing a song for Babul Supriyo in his album isn’t it? Not many know that you are a trained singer.
TD : Yes, I was offered the song but I did not finally sing it. I have got a couple of other offers as well to sing in albums because I am a trained classical singer. But I would rather concentrate on my acting career right now. But you never know, I might go in for it in the future.

YT : You’ve become the brand ambassador for Gitanjali group which recently launched the Wimbledon jewelery. How did that happen?
TD : Gitanjali group was looking at signing an actress for endorsing their jewellery and they heard about my fondness for jewelery. I am very fond of jewellery and I love collecting them. I have quite a collection. So they thought that I might be the best person to endorse their jewelery. In fact, they had been keeping a track of my past films and my film career. And after seeing that, they were certain I would be a good choice as their brand ambassador.

NT : So where does Tanushree Dutta go from here?
TD : I don’t really know. But I am hoping all good things(smiles)! Actually I don’t believe in seeing myself 5 years from now or 10 years from now. I see myself only about 3 months from now. And 3 months from now I’ll be shooting abroad. I don’t want to talk about which movie I am shooting for because I am very superstitious, so when the time comes for me to talk about them, I’ll talk about them.

© Nikhil Taneja (nikhiltaneja@gmail.com)