Reel Dreams

The actress was in town,along with Marathi actor Aniket Vishwasrao,for the launch of the new Gillette Guard on Tuesday at Le Meridien. Looked pretty in a peacock blue gown,her persona was poles apart from her sporty avatar in the film. “Chak De! India took all of us girls on a great high. I am quite content with the offers I got post that. I have never been super ambitious and have always gone with the flow,” she answers when one asks if her work expectations have been met. “I have picked films that I felt I could do well. Of course,I hope to do much more and much better work. I believe in destiny and will always accept what comes my way,” she adds.

Vidya is currently working on King Con and Sushma Reddy’s home production. “King Con is an out-and-out comedy. I’m starring alongside Govinda and he is super fun to work with,” she says. This is her first comedy film and she claims to be loving it. “I’ve always been told that I’m good at making people laugh and being spontaneous. And when I act,I bring my own self to the table,” she says.

Bollywood is in the era of multi-starrers and Vidya is all for them. “The audience can see 10 stars in one film at the cost of Rs 100 – that’s the USP of multi-starrers. Each one has their bit to play and if they play it well,they are bound to get noticed in the crowd,” the actress feels. “But for me,whether a multi-starrer or not,it’s the script that matters. The script is bigger than the banner. Say for example, if Shah Rukh Khan or Akshay Kumar endorse a script,which banner wouldn’t want to endorse it?” she says.

Ask her if there are any roles she dreams of playing and she immediately nods,“I’d love to do a musical as I’m a dancer or then a film like When Harry met Sally. I also have my eye on the role of Umrao Jaan.”

His boyish looks and easy manner cannot go unnoticed. And these characteristics,coupled with his passion for acting,have brought him praise in the the Marathi television and film industry. “Television and films are very different from each other,yet both pose a challenge for actors. Films have a larger canvas and the expectations are higher. The story has to be perfectly narrated to the audience within a certain time limit,” says the actor who is pleased with the success of his latest Marathi film Ladi Godi.

“Ladi Godi was a lighthearted film,and went down well with audiences,” he says,adding,“Marathi cinema is getting experimental. A new brigade of young directors has entered the industry and they’re picking up new subjects and issues. Plus,the films are playing at multiplexes so they’re reaching out to a new audience too.”

Aniket began acting during his college days. “My father Chandrashekhar Vishwasrao used to do Marathi plays. Thus the acting world wasn’t new for me. I would do one-act plays in college,which helped me land a role in a television serial,” he says. He was still hesitant in diving deep into the profession because of the risks involved and the irregularity of income. “But once I realised that this is what I was really interested in,there was no looking back,” he quips.

On television,the actor has been seen in Nayak,Un Paoos and Kalat Nakalat,to name a few. “I am currently working on two films – Bol Baby Bol and Tendulkar Out. The latter will hopefully release in December. It’s a black comedy that revolves around the happenings of one night. Three friends set out to complete a mission and the film revolves around how they botch up the job,” he reveals.

Does he want to branch out and do Hindi films as well? “Yes,of course,” comes the reply. “As an actor,I want to explore different mediums. I want to do films in all languages. The role should be good and challenging,” he says.