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Singer Monali Thakur has come a long way since her days as an Indian Idol contestant. She talks about making her debut as an actress with Nagesh Kukunoor’s Lakshmi
Casting coup: I was jamming with a few artists at a party, where Nagesh (Kukunoor) sir saw me and asked if I was interested in acting. I just couldn’t say no. He told me to audition for the film and also narrated a few portions of script. I gave an audition and fortunately, everything fell into place. I feel thankful to god that I didn’t have to go through the regular drill of auditions that most aspiring actors generally face.
Stepping stone: Being the youngest child at home, I have always been pampered. My family has been supportive of my choices and when I decided to participate in Indian Idol, they were the first ones to give me the push. The first season of Indian Idol became extremely popular and that’s why I decided to try my luck in the second season. I got eliminated at an early stage, but that helped my career as I got a few gigs and a couple of months later, Pritam (Chakraborthy) signed me for a few television jingles. I did several other projects, but it was only with songs like Zara zara touch me and Sawaar loon that I got recognition. But with Lakshmi, I have finally got a chance to prove myself as an actress.
First shot: On day one, I was extremely nervous. I have always been behind the mic, so facing the camera gave me butterflies in the stomach. We were filming a couple of important sequences in the brothel and the shooting was done in Hyderabad. I was a little scared because performing in front of an excellent director like Nagesh and rubbing shoulders with brilliant actors like Shefali Shah and Satish Kaushik was certainly intimidating.
The takeaway: The biggest thing is that I have understood to be more spontaneous and natural. There was so much to learn from everyone on the sets. I have also learned to be more disciplined, humble and definitely much more organised.
Stumbling blocks: The most difficult thing was to look my part as the character is almost half my real age. I wanted to make sure that I don’t overact or ham. That was biggest hurdle that I had to overcome.
Role model: My father has been the biggest inspiration in my life. He is extremely talented and has been instrumental in bringing a lot of discipline in my life. He is an outstanding singer, a brilliant actor (he worked in a few Bengali films) and moreover, he is the most amazing father.
Future projects: I am reading a few scripts, but I am waiting for Laxmi to showcase my performance. That way, I will get to know how the audience reacts to my work. My second film, Mango, will release soon. I am also getting to work on some great compositions, so I am trying to balance both my roles well.
