Rooting for her roots

VJ Anusha Dandekar on her Marathi cinema debut with the film Jai Jai Maharashtra Mazha

After having had a successful stint as a VJ and having acted in the critically acclaimed Virrudh,actress Anusha Dandekar will now be seen making her Marathi film debut with the film Jai Jai Maharashtra Mazha. At a press conference held at the Pune Marriott Hotel and Convention Centre,Senapati Bapat Road,Dandekar spoke about her tryst with the city and of her growing up days here. “I remember coming to Vaishali when I was a child,however it has changed alot since then. My cousins and I would climb the hills near our house when we lived at Bhandarkar Road,” she says. Speaking about the film she adds,“This film is very special to me as I am doing it for my family. My ajji (grandmother) doesn’t understand what I do on MTV,so this Marathi film is dedicated to her.” The film,which is about a young girl who travels to Maharashtra to get in touch with her roots after living in US for most of her life,is something that is close to Dandekar’s heart. “I can identify with the identity crisis Ashwini,my character has in the film. Doing this film was a way of getting in touch with my roots myself too. I had to brush up my Marathi and the crew helped me whip it into shape,” she says. Dandekar last seen in Aamri Khan’s home production Delhi Belly in the item song with Khan says that it was an added bonus to work with him and also receive compliments from him for her performance. “I was overwhelmed with the way my one dialog has made such an impact. People keep tweeting me ‘I hate you like I love you in brackets’,” she beams.