Thirddegree | Perizaad Zorabian

relationship?

Oh no, I’m stupidly

romantic! I can never make the first move because of the fear of rejection. But then I haven’t met many 34-year-old virgins.

From coaxing awkward guys out of their shells to playing Indira Gandhi in Bandung Sonata…
I was the first and only option for the role because of my nose. And after all those years of my mother telling me to get a nose job! Finally it paid off. I heard that Manisha Koirala and Tabu are also playing Indira Gandhi. I’m delighted to be in such company, but when I get into costume, I think it works.

Did you prepare for the role?
I play Indira during the time she was groomed for politics. She has to calm her father down and you can see how she controls difficult situations. During the audition, the makers showed us clippings of the Bandung conference in 1955, so I observed her then. I didn’t expect her to be so smiley, she seemed more like a harder version of Princess Diana.

You seem to be stuck in the strong woman mould. Would you play a shrinking violet?
I would love to play a dumbass bimbette. Or play a character I can’t relate to, like someone who wallows in self-pity. I have my PMS days, but that would require real acting.

Now you’re signed up for Subhash Ghai’s Jogger’s Park, are you going to become Marizaad?
I haven’t even been asked to change my name, so I don’t know whether I should feel insulted. If I had to choose a name beginning with M, it would be Maya. It has an international, sexy feel. I couldn’t see myself as a Malini or a Madhuri.

You once said that you would like to be groomed like Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady. Who would you choose in the Hindi industry to do it?
I’m a junglee. I’m not perfectly dressed and have unruly hair. Subhash Ghai is already grooming me in a subtle and very non-interfering manner. It’s nice to have someone looking out for me.

What about the film you’re doing with Tanuja Chandra?
It’s an untitled comedy. I play someone radically different from what I am. I don’t think before I speak, but this character is

rehearsed, with not one word out of place.

Would you do an item number?
I so want to do one, though my ballet teacher would probably die. But I’m more the jeans casual girl than the hot pants, boob tube sort.