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Mahesh Bhatt is her uncle and director Mohit Suri her
brother, but actress Smilie Suri will tell you she's still had her share of
"waiting and struggle". And now four years after her debut in the hit
"Kalyug", she once again waits for the curtain to rise.
"After the success of 'Kalyug', I wanted something
better or at least as good as it. But I didn't get anything good enough. So it
was not a conscious decision to wait...," Smilie told IANS over phone from
Mumbai.
"I would rather do fewer and good roles than just
anything at all. People remember you for the roles you do. So I didn't want to
go wrong with that. I kept getting the same kind of roles...something I wasn't
interested in," she said.
The actress is now ready with her second film "Yeh Mera
India
",
directed by N. Chandra and also starring Anupam Kher, Purab Kohli, Parveen
Dabbas and Rajit Kapoor among others.
Smilie said the film, which is slated to hit screens Aug 28,
is a story that every woman will relate to since it deals with male chauvinism.
"The film revolves around a period of 24 hours in
Mumbai and how certain incidents in the day change my character's life. This is
a story with which every girl and woman will relate, because one of the
problems that my character faces in the film is male chauvinism," she
said.
"Every girl at some point of time in her life either
witnesses that (chauvinism) or has seen someone witness that. The story is
basically how this girl stands up and doesn't become a victim to it," she
said.
Asked what convinced her to take up the role, the young
actress said: "My role in a film is very important to me. While in
'Kalyug' I played a simple, small-town girl who couldn't stand up against
injustice and ends up ending her own life, in this film I play a girl who is
strong and gets herself out of tough situations, while not becoming a victim.
"The two roles are quite different and so I decided to
take it up. Although doing issue-based films was never a conscious decision, it
just happened that both my films deal with issues," she said.
Smilie, who knows various dance forms like ballroom dancing,
Kathak and jazz, always wanted to be in front of the camera, even though her brother
is into direction and she worked as an assistant director in a few films.
So was it easy for her to enter the film industry as an
actress?
"Even though I had people in the industry, it was a
struggle for me to get my first acting assignment. I assisted on 'Zehar' and
'Murder'. One day went up to Mahesh Bhatt-saab at the shooting of 'Zehar' and
told him I wanted to act. But he told me that he will not cast me till I don't
suit a particular role and I don't learn the nuances of the industry," she
said.
"He and my brother told me that I need to work hard and
learn. So I had my share of waiting and struggle. But today I'm happy they did
not give it to me on a platter. I have learnt a lot in the process. They did
not spoon feed me, which was a good thing," she added.
Smilie is also looking forward to her third release "
Down
Town
"
after "Yeh Mera
India
".
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