The Hindu : New Delhi News : Awaiting roles of substance

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Monday, Jul 03, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Awaiting roles of substance

Not one to play second fiddle to male counterparts or seek publicity by doing films with sleaze, former Miss World Yukta Mookhey is looking for meaningful, women-oriented themes, says Madhur Tankha...

She aspires to play lead roles in women-oriented films and will not sign films that portray actresses as glamour dolls who do occasional song and dance routines and play second fiddle to their male counterparts.

Former Miss World Yukta Mookhey, whose foray into Bollywood has not really been a successful one, says she will now act in only those Hindi films that have a storyline that will motivate her to go that extra mile.

Here in the Capital this past week to launch electromagnetic radiation products introduced by Cogent EMR Solutions Private Limited, Yukta reveals that her upcoming film "Kathputli" being made by Sahara One Productions is a suspense thriller. "I cannot reveal much except that I play a Westernised girl who is a shopaholic. She enjoys cooking a wide variety of dishes and insists that her guests must savour them. A lot of planning and discussion went in terms of portrayal of my character in the film that stars Milind Soman," adds Yukta.

In another forthcoming film "Memsaab", Yukta is portraying the role of a riot victim. "Before signing this women-oriented film, I was given a bound script. As I am a Punjabi girl, portraying a Sikh character -- a displaced victim of riots -- came easy to me. The ugly fallout of the riot is that the protagonist becomes a prostitute. After the second half, the film dwells on how the prostitute transforms into a supermodel," she adds. Directed by Arshad Siddiqui, "Memsaab" is slated for release at the end of this year. Fifty per cent of the film has already been completed and the remaining portions would be shot in Lutyens' Delhi.

Agreeing that she is extremely fastidious while selecting films, Yukta says: "I want to do only those Hindi films that have women-oriented subjects. If a big banner offers me a small part in it's film, I do not mind doing it as long as the role takes the film forward. Another prerequisite for signing a film is that the director must be a well-known one. Moreover, the storyline should also interest me. I enjoyed watching `Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham' as the blockbuster had both emotional quotient and family drama in it. Most importantly, the Karan Johar film had a message in it."

After Yukta was crowned Miss World in 1999, Bollywood would have been an ideal platform to launch her career but she chose a film that failed to create magic at the box office. She worked on socially relevant projects "for the larger benefit of society" and also undertook classes in Hindustani classical music.

Five years from now, Yukta sees herself as an actress who has done some meaningful and thought-provoking films. "Films are not the end of life for me. Even though films provide an excellent opportunity to reach out to the masses, there are also other avenues through which one can reach out to the public. In the past ten years, television and music have also come up in a big way."

With just an inch short of six feet, it would not be incorrect to say that physically she towers over quite a few of our heroes, but Yukta in her flamboyant style quickly dismisses such suggestions. "Height is not an issue in Hindi films," she says with slight annoyance.

With her debut film "Pyaasa" opposite Aftab Shivdasani failing to strike a chord with the masses, Yukta desperately wants to climb the ladder of success in Bollywood. But she does not want to compromise by doing films with sleaze like "Murder", "Hawas" and "Julie". Instead, she wants to be known for her screen presence and acting skills rather than for possessing oodles of charm.

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