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In search of realistic roles

Rachna Shah's thought-provoking films "Last Monk" and "Sounds of Darkness" were screened at the recent 8th Osian Cinefan in the Capital. Madhur Tankha talks to the actress

She wants to be a part of both art as well as mainstream cinema. After a stint in Hindi, English and regional language art films, actress Rachna Shah is now ready to join the Bollywood bandwagon provided the role is a realistic one.

Two of Rachna's thought-provoking films "Last Monk" and "Sounds of Darkness" were screened at the 8th Osian Cinefan in New Delhi that concluded on Sunday. In the English film "Last Monk" directed by Sudipto Sen, she plays the main character, who barely after a fortnight of her marriage has to leave for Ladakh to complete research work for her dissertation. For Rachna, "Last Monk" was physically quite strenuous. "Before shooting for the film in Ladakh, we had to acclimatise ourselves with the high altitude where the oxygen is very thin. Ladakh has an inhospitable terrain. As a result, 15 members of our unit fell ill. We had to shoot at a far-off place, where there was very little supply of food and water," she reveals, asserting that the mountainous topography strips you of all your learning and takes you back to your basics.

As for the film, the actress says it basically makes an attempt to clear the fundamentals of the Buddhist philosophy and also explores female sexuality. "It also shows how Buddhist teachings affect the protagonist's life."

Stating that her Bengali film "Sounds of Darkness" -- directed by Ashoke Vishwanathan -- is basically a spoof on art cinema, Rachna says the film highlights the fact that filmmakers of both art and commercial cinema have to struggle to complete their films. "As this is a film within a film, I am playing the role of a screenplay writer, who is also the director's girlfriend. However, I soon get corrupted by the filmmaking system and start interfering with the director's work so that he makes a saleable movie and not an art film."

In her yet to be released Hindi film "Dharini" set in Benaras, she plays an 18-year-old widow. "The film shows how a young Hindu widow is not allowed to wear bright clothes, eat oily food or sweets. She is not even allowed to wear any jewellery," says Rachna, who honed her acting skills under English theatre expert Vikram Kapadia.

Stating that she was agreeable to the idea of doing mainstream cinema, Rachna says: "This does not mean that I will abandon art films. Alternative cinema is as entertaining and important as commercial cinema. I do not denounce Bollywood films that have the usual song and dance stuff. In `Sounds of Darkness' I did a song and dance routine. In fact, in M.F. Husain's `Meenaxi: Tale of 3 Cities' I even did a hit item number Chinnamma Chirkamma along with Kunal Kapoor. I am not averse to the idea of doing a David Dhawan or Karan Johar film. But what really excites me is realistic cinema," adds Rachna.

Her upcoming film "Sahiya"set in Jharkhand depicts the life of a family living in a village that is controlled by Naxals. "Ten days before the shooting began, I stayed in a village in Jharkhand to get a feel of the life there. The film explores various issues including poverty and corruption. Shooting was really tough as there was neither electricity nor phone," says Rachna.

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