The grass is always greener on the other side thus goes an age-old adage. It seems to be true even in the Hindi film industry. Most actors who are stuck with a particular image feel the other person is better off.
While item girls die to do a girl-next-door role thinking that it is the best way to announce their arrival as an actress, there are many who are tired of playing the girl-next-door and want to shed that image and play a glamorous role. Amrita Rao falls in the second category. She is tired of playing the good-girl-next door and is all set to be seen in glamorous roles in forthcoming roles. However, in her latest film Victory, she continues to play a simple, studious girl from Jaisalmer! The film, based on cricket, has Harman Baweja playing her hero. She has no regrets though, for playing the roles she has till now.
“Glamour is something that any woman would love to adopt,” says Amrita when quizzed on the reason for her wanting a change in image. “Where women vary is the degree of glamour they are comfortable with. I am comfortable with the latest fashion trends and would like to adapt them in my roles. If the script demands, I am ready to shed my image. However, there is a limit beyond which I am not comfortable. I do not want to compromise on my comfort level,” explains Amrita, assuring her fans that an item girl image is not something she is looking at.
Was it a conscious decision to carry on with the image of a girl next door? “Not really. I think it is just a coincidence that most roles that I have done are of that type. I think most of my directors thought that is the role I would suit best! But that does not mean I cannot do glamorous roles. In fact, my forthcoming film Shortcut will have me in a completely different role,” clarifies the pretty actress. “All actors would like to prove their versatility by acting in different types of roles. I am no different,” says the actress who has been dubbed as one of the cutest things to have happened to Bollywood in the recent past.
Victory, her latest film, narrates the story of a small town boy (Vijay – played by Harman Baweja) who becomes a member of the Indian cricket team after a lot of struggle. Amrita plays Nandini a girl from Jaisalmer and Vijay’s best friend from childhood. “Nandini is a medical student and despite being from a small town has a strong personality and wants to make it big in life. She is ready to stand up and fight for a cause. She is also very vocal about everything she does in life. Nandini stands by Vijay throughout his career and even when he becomes a superstar, she has her feet firmly on the ground,” explains Amrita. “What I liked about this character is the subtle messages that come through various actions of her. Nandini is not just another heroine, she has a reason to be in the film and her presence makes a lot of difference to the way the story progresses. It was a very nice experience portraying the role of Nandini in Victory,” says Amrita who said yes to the film, the moment the script was narrated to her. “I could realize that this was a unique film where the script is the real hero!”
There are many unique things about Victory, the most publicized one being 45 world famous cricketers acting as themselves in the film. “Bret Lee, Brad Hogg and Mike Hussey from Australia, Shoaib Malik, Sohail Tanveer and Iftiqar from Pakistan, Sanath Jayasuriya from Sri Lanka and our very own Harbhajan Singh – all come together in this movie. I think this is the first sports film to have so many stars and such a huge canvas,” says a beaming Amrita Rao. “Victory is very different from the other cricket-based films like Lagaan and Iqbaal that have been made in the recent past. It is very close to reality.”
There have been rumours doing rounds about her alleged affair with Harman. Amrita rubbishes that as pure fiction and says that they are friends and it was a very nice experience working with Harman. “I have stopped reacting to such rumours!” says Amrita. “But let me tell you that working with Harman was a great experience. He has a fantastic never-say-die attitude. He is completely committed to what he is doing. In fact, when you see him in Victory, you will realize how perfectly he has picked up the body language of a cricketer. He prepared a lot for the role and the way he has portrayed the role is simply fascinating. There is no flaw in the way he has performed in the movie,” explains Amrita all praise for his hero in reel life and friend in real life.
By Srabanti Chakrabarti
