The young starlet who carved a niche for herself in the field of Classical Dance and Acting gets candid about herself and her new found passion,Choreography…..

What is more challenging? Dancing or Acting?
You see, these both are very different fields and you have to work very hard to excel. Though I enjoy acting my first love is Dancing. I began my Kathak training in 1984 at ‘NrityaBharati Kathak Academy’, Pune. I have trained under the guidance of Guru Pandit Rohini Bhate, who herself is an dancer of International Stature.I also completed a diploma in Kathak from Pune University and I stood first there too.

Which projects are you currently working on?
Currently I am working in a movie called ‘Paash’ directed by Arvind Jog. Besides that, I am also performing in a stage show, ‘Maitra’. This show has been conceptualised by Subodh Bhave. It is the story of six friends and their friendship narrated with the help of music, dance and drama. In this show I am working with Shaunak Abhisheki, Bela Shende, Subodh Bhave, Sandip Khare and Salil Kulkarni. Besides dancing and acting I have done singing in this show. we have been getting very positive feedbacks from the audience and the show is running successfully.

I am also working on a dance show called ‘Bhairav Bhay Tarak’. The theme of this show deals with parallels between mythology and present world. It tells that we need someone like Lord Shankara, who saved the earth from demons in ancient times,to fight the modern world problems like corruption and pollution. The first show of ‘Bhairav Bhay Tarak’ is on 11th August at Tilak Memorial.

Can you tell us more about your character in the movie ‘Paash’, How did you prepare yourself  for this role?
This movie is about today’s youth. You see, there is very large section of young population who think that what matters is money and money only. This movie deals with the problems that such people face in the pursuit of their ambitions, goals and greed. I am playing a choreographer in this movie. The role was not difficult for me as I am dancer myself but yes, getting into the character of choreographer took some time!

What type of roles do you prefer? And which is the one character that you would really like to play?
I like my character from the movie ‘Bindhaast’ very much. It was a full fledged role with enough scope for acting as well as stunts.The character was of a brave girl who embarks on dangerous journey to prove her innocence. There were various shades to that role. She was emotional, brave and yet afraid of things forced upon her by circumstances.
I like the character of Waheeda Rehman from ‘Guide’. I would really love to play something similar to that which requires good dancing skills.

Tell us more about your Dancing and Acting career.
I have done many marathi movies including ‘Sarakarnama’, ‘Bindhast’, ‘Saawarkhed ek gaav’, ‘Mi Tuzhich Re’, ‘Kaaydyach Bola’, ‘Mukhavate’ and ‘Mission Champion’.
I have also worked in a Hindi movie ‘Paheli‘, directed by Amol Palekar. The movie had Shahrukh Khan and Rani Mukherji in leading roles. I have acted in many TV shows like ‘Bhatkanti’, ‘Peshwai’, ‘Reshimgaathi’. I have performed all over india in shows like Khajuraho Festival, Konark Festival, Hampi Festival, Pandit Durga Lal Festival(Mumbai), Kathak Festival(Delhi) and Pune Festival. I have also done international shows in UK, Germany, Vietnam and France.

I bagged best actress award by Screen and Filmfare for my role in the movie ‘Bindhast’. I have also won Alpha Gaurav Award for ‘Bhatkanti’. I have also received many awrads including Nargis Datt Award (Pune Government), Kalaa Gaurav Award, Singaarmani Award for my Dancing.

How has been the experience of working as a Choreographer?
I have choreographed for movies ‘Bayoo’, ‘Maaybaap’, ‘Paash’ and one video song for Lata didi’s album ‘Maitra Jiwanche’. Since I was there in all these songs, choreographing was not much difficult job. Its an easy job when you have to choreograph for yourself ‘because you are very much aware of your skills and limits. But when it comes to directing somebody else it becomes very difficult as you are not fully aware of the other person’s capabilities. It is possible that you both may think from different perspectives and some problems may arise.