Defiantly different
ANUJ KUMAR
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From Rangeela to Naina, Urmila Matondkar has taken care not to repeat roles.
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I may flop as an actor but not as a person. Urmila
NO SLOTS FOR HER: Urmila Matondkar — Photo: R.V. Moorthy
These days Urmila Matondkar is reading "The Alchemy of Desires."
After all it's the desire to be different that has made the elfin beauty survive in the industry which loves slotting actors like apples and oranges.
After "Rangeela" when the whole world was at her feet to make her a sex siren, she opted to be the other woman in "Judaai."
When glamour was the order of the day, she packed her vanity kit for "Satya." When action was considered a male's forte, she dared to make it gender neutral with "Ek Hasina Thi."
This Friday she is taking one more step forward with "Naina."
The iDream production is being promoted with no other actor on the poster or in promotion.
Arguably it is a first and credible for somebody, who has been dubbed as a limited-actor by critics.
"The industry suffers from herd mentality. The moment you do one thing right, you are expected to do that throughout your career.
"Fortunately, I didn't fall in this trap. May be because I got success after many failures." She elaborates,
Satisfaction
"When `Rangeela' became a hit I got offers to repeat the performance. Similarly when `Bhoot' surprisingly did well, I was offered 10 horror subjects with a varying mix of sleaze. I rejected all of them. I have always tried not to repeat myself. It may not have worked at the box office - industry people have ridiculed my decision to do a `Kaun' - but the satisfaction is there."
But then, "Naina" reminds of "Bhoot"? "`Bhoot' was horror. `Naina' is supernatural. Horror is only as a bonus. It is the story of Naina, who loses her eyesight and parents at the age of five during an eclipse in London. Some 20 years later she gets her eyesight back through a cornea transplant but she starts seeing something very strange... the dead people."
Urmila maintains one of the highlights of the film is special effects.
"You won't find the effects tacky. The under water scenes have been shot in a London studio used by Hollywood productions. Then perhaps it's the first time that the myloma technique has been used in a Bollywood film through which a lady flies through me."
`Naina' is followed by two more intense subjects, Jahnu Barua's `Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara' and Pankaj Parashar's `Benaras.'
Ask her to elaborate on this changing sketch of female characters and Urmila first turns to media, "The media may have its limitation of filling space but it should not give mileage to people who are just out to exploit sex appeal with quotable quotes."
"Or for that matter", referring to herself, "rap somebody for experimenting because she didn't fall for a trend."
"Audience is ready to accept the changing face of the Indian woman. It's time industry and media provide support for the change. Coming to books, Urmila says it's the family and her reading that keeps her grounded.
"These two have never made me feel like a star. This is why I may flop as an actor but not as a person."
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