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Honeymoon isn’t over yet

After a hugely successful break in ‘Rock On!!,’ Shahana’s dream run continues with the powerful ‘Firaaq’

ACTRESS SHAHANA GOSWAMI, who also essayed the role of ‘Debbie,’ Arjun Rampal’s ‘fishy’ wife in the uber-successful ‘Rock On!!,’ presented quite the pleasant disposition when conversing with us.

Describing her character, in Nandita Das’s ‘Firaaq,’ based on the Gujarat riots of 2002, Goswami says, “I play a mehndi wali (henna artist), whose house gets burned down in the carnage. Her relationship with another co-worker and friend, who happens to be from another community, gets affected. Loyalties and the basis of the friendship are questioned in the movie.”

Goswami also claims that Das’s acting background has been very helpful in the process of shooting. “She’s been on the other side of the fence, so that helps. Nandita is very balanced; she uses the medium to its fullest. Acting and directing have very disproportionate requirements. It’s up to the actor to transform the director’s vision. But the director has to hold everything together. To be so clear on what you want in your first venture is commendable”

In both, ‘Rock On!!’ and ‘Firaaq,’ Goswami plays unconventional roles, something her contemporaries would shy away from. But she does not purposely choose to stay away from ‘masala’ films. “One of my aspirations was to not classify films as art or mainstream. There are certain differences evident, but now the two types are overlapping; the lines are blurring.”

Goswami then goes on to tell us a bit about her future ventures. “Well besides ‘Tera Kya Hoga, Johnny…!’, which is also playing at the festival, and ‘Firaaq,’ I have ‘Jashn,’ made by Mahesh Bhatt, and another film made by Vinay Shukla lined up. Both are due to release in March.”

citytime@khaleejtimes.com