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Hungry and toothsome

Perizaad Zorabian says her latest film has helped her achieve a stillness within herself. And the unconventional actor is now ready for some action

A MIND OF HER OWN Perizaad Zorabian: `I do roles I believe in. I am stubborn that way' PHOTO: REUTERS

Perizaad Zorabian declares she is hungry. "I will not speak till I get some food!" the perky actor declares. She flits around the sumptuous buffet, lifting lids and peering into the dishes. "Can you imagine I am veggie? My dad tells me not to talk about it publicly as it is bad for the business!" Perizaad is talking of the family poultry business she was managing, thanks to her MBA degree (she topped the course), till the acting bug bit her.

The first call

Kicking off her career with Nagesh Kukunoor's Bollywood Calling, Perizaad has gone on to become a multiplex maharani with star-making turns in Mumbai Matinee and Morning Raga. The role that fixed her in the public conscious forever was as no-nonsense working girl Jenny in Jogger's Park. "I still have people coming up to me and saying they loved me in the film."

Now people are also talking of her turn as Nikasha in Ek Ajnabi, her maiden foray into the big bad world of mainstream cinema. "A lot of the credit for Nikasha should go to Apu (director Apoorva Lakhia). I feel with Ek Ajnabi I have achieved that tehrav (stillness), you know a kind of centring. I do not play a regular Hindi movie mom in the film. Everyone told me I was finished, accepting a mother's role. That I would not have anything to do in an Amitabh Bachchan film, also that I should take my mother or secretary along for the outdoor shoots as you never know what happens out there," Perizaad arches her eyebrows.

"That month in Bangkok was a blast and I was pampered beyond belief!"

Perizaad waxes eloquent on the Big B when she says: "He is genuinely a super person. He holds your hand through tough parts but lets you do your thing. He is the kind of person who will be present for over-the-shoulder shots to give you the reaction. You know he would call me `Strassu baba' because I went to the Lee Strasburg Acting Studio in New York. He would say: `Arrey Apu yeh Strassu baba kya keh rahi hai!'"

Next on Perizaad's platter is the mother of all biggies, Nikhil (Kal Ho Na Ho) Advani's Salaam-e-Ishq. "This is the first time I am attempting comedy. I told Nikhil I cannot do it but he says I will rock. There are six tracks and I am opposite Sohail Khan. That's all I can say. I have even signed a non-disclosure agreement!"

Perizaad's stock as far live acts goes has soared. "Absolutely no one could believe I can do all these jhataks and mataks. I have learned ballet for years and years and I love performing. It is good fun!"

Lest you think Perizaad has totally sold out to the filthy lucre of commercial cinema, take heart for she has done Bappaditya Bandopadhyay's Devaki that is quite the belle de film festival. "Devaki has gone to 11 international film festivals and won the Best Feature Film Award at the Asheville Film Festival, North Carolina, when it was up against George Clooney's Good Night, And Good Luck so there!" The film is a rather dark story of the parallel lives of two women played by Perizaad and Suman Ranganath.

Then there is Moonlight opposite Shekhar Suman, which Perizaad describes as "a kind of sequel to Jogger's Park. I play Radhika who is an out-of- work actress. A tarot card reader says her luck would change when she meets the man of her dreams and she meets Shekhar Suman at an audition and is convinced that he is the man. It is a bitter-sweet love story."

About walking on the wild side as far as roles are concerned, Perizaad says: "I have a non-traditional face so at the beginning of my career, I was offered all these vamp roles. If I had accepted them then I would have been typecast. Now that I am established I would like to explore that side as well. The other thing about vamp roles is that they necessarily come with few clothes, which is a definite no-no. See yaar, I have an unspoken deal with my parents and I would not like to misuse the freedom they have given me."

Perizaad insists her choice of hatke se roles is not reverse stereotyping. "I do roles I believe in. I am stubborn that way. Even if I know no one is going to watch a particular film, it is okay as long I believe in it. That's why I renovated the family restaurant, Gondola. There is always a back-up."

The tehrav that Perizaad has achieved has also revealed the need for that special someone in her life. "I feel the void now. When I started out in films, I was coming out of a relationship. I called it off because I was not sure what I wanted. Then it was all about proving yourself, all about I, me, myself. Now I am more secure as an actress. But I am not emotionally frivolous and need to be swept off my feet."

Oyez all red-blooded males, the lady is single and ready to mingle, so trot out the moonlight and roses!

MINI ANTHIKAD-CHHIBBER

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