Little Miss Muffet

The actress will be seen on the big screen today,after a gap of two years. “The gap between my last film,Shortkut — The Con Is On in 2009,and Love U… Mr. Kalakaar isn’t intentional. Due to the recession in 2009,two of my films got shelved,” she explains. Once a promising artiste,Rao’s career,however,has never been a steady one. After her debut in Ab Ke Baras (2002),the actress followed it up with Ishq Vishk (2003). Her role opposite Shahid Kapoor as a sweet,simple girl who loses out to popular girls in college,brought her the coveted attention.

The roles that she chose next only strengthened that image. But most of films,barring Farah Khan’s Main Hoon Na (2004),were barely noticed. In 2006,she returned with Kapoor in Rajshri Productions’ Vivaah,which revived the careers of both the actors. While Kapoor as well as the industry have moved on since,the 29-year-old seems trapped in her sweet-girl image. The industry has been overtaken by her contemporaries and newcomers,such as Priyanka Chopra,Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone. Even Vidya Balan,who used to enjoy an image similar to Rao’s,has reinvented herself with more challenging roles,becoming one of the more sought-after actresses.

However,Rao appears unfazed. “I don’t want to break away from the image I have created. I don’t believe that the tag ‘girl-next-door’ implies boring. To me,it means someone who is attractive,interesting and has a sense of humour,” she quips. Talking about her association with the Rajshri banner,she says that the production house is like family to her since they both embody similar sensibilities.

“The characters that Rajshri actresses portray aren’t sensational,” says Rao,whose next two films too are with the production house. Instead,they have this quality of being ‘namkeen’,like Madhuri Dixit was in Hum Aapke Hain Koun…!. My character in Love U… Mr. Kalakaar is similar to hers but bubblier.” The promos and songs from the film may seem reminiscent of the many Rajshri productions from the yore but Rao begs to differ. “Those who aren’t exposed to the lives of people from cities like Gwalior or Ghaziabad may think so. But most part of India still wants to watch the traditional family drama.”