True to life

With her distinctive heavy brows and bee-stung lips,Sarita Choudhury is familiar to most lovers of art-house cinema. Most critics sat up and took notice of the dark haired actress for her bold performance as the star-crossed Mina in Mississippi Masala. But it was her role in Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love,as the tortured queen Tara,that really brought the actress to wider public attention. The movie went on to be a box-office dud,but Chowdhury was appreciated as much for her brooding beauty as for her undeniable ability to make an impact even in the smallest of roles. Indian audiences last saw her in Manoj N Shymalan’s Lady in the Water,where she played a small but significant role as Anna Ran. She comes back to Indian screens with a leading role in For Real ,an independent feature film written and directed by debutant Sona Jain. The film,which will be released on August 20 here,has already won a slew of awards,including Best Screenplay at the Asian Festival of First Films 2009.

“ My role in For Real is that of a mother who has given up her singing career,” Choudhury explains,“She is a woman who has suppressed her main passion in order to be with her family. She deals with a loss that she cannot quite handle. Her distant behaviour leads her daughter to believe she has become someone else.” It’s an unusual storyline,but her role— that of Delhi housewife Priya Singh—touched a chord in Choudhury,who is herself a mother. “I could relate to the subject because I am an artist and a mother. And sometimes the two don’t go hand in hand easily. It has taken me a while to understand that doing what I love does not take away from being a good mother. When I come back from a film set,the joy of seeing my daughter is what fuels me to go to work the next day,” she says.

The New York-based actress debuted in 1992 with Mira Nair’s Mississippi Masala,in what she says was her most memorable role till date,and went on to do two more movies with the director,Kama Sutra and The Perez Family. Nair has since then more or less moved on from independent cinema to big studio projects like New York,I Love You and Amelia,and she and Choudhury have not worked together in many years. But the actress remains hopeful of future collaboration. “Mira is such a charismatic and smart lady,and it was she who brought me into the world of films.”

Although she’s been part of the American independent cinema scene,as well as theatre and television,it doesn’t bother Choudhury much that globally she’s recognised only for her roles in Mississippi Masala and Kama Sutra. “I’ve worked very hard to get the platform that I have in New York,but I understand that these two movies remain high points of my career and I’m proud of that,” she declares. In fact,the 43-year-old actress is also considering a move to Indian cinema. “ I have always wanted to act in Indian movies. But because I live and work in New York,there was a disconnect. Now people are asking me to do both independent and Bollywood movies. That makes me happy.”