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Now playing Sush

Esha Deol is all set to play Sushmita Sen in her next film "Ankahee" releasing this May

Esha Deol might not be saying it in words, but from the day her next film, Ankahee, releases in mid-May, she will be watched very closely for reasons more than one. The most important is her portrayal of Sushmita Sen as Miss Universe and, second, the amalgam of glamour and emotions that will provide this bubbly beauty a chance to prove her mettle.

The film, as producer Vikram Bhatt says, is about his relationship with Sushmita Sen after she became Miss Universe and was making her foray into filmdom. He has chosen Aftab Shivdasani to play his role. The film is directed by Aditya Chopra.

For Esha, who is still busy shooting it is one more way of exploring her talent. She has this to say about the role: "I play a girl called Kavya.She is a Miss Universe. She enters Bollywood to make a career. She is apparently a glamorous woman, but emotionally disturbed. She has a lot of personal problems, though as Miss Universe, she has to mask that gloomy side of hers. The film shows how in the midst of her problems she comes across a man who looks ordinary but is mentally strong. She gets involved with him, without caring if the man is married or not. She also proves to be of great emotional support to him."

On whether Esha is finding it difficult to play the role, and how it feels to portray the personal life of someone you meet occasionally, she is diplomatically silent. "For me, it is just another role. I didn't ask Bhatt any personal questions. I did what Aditya Chopra asked me to do. The credit for my glamorous look and the deglamourised look during emotional scenes goes to Aditya. Yes, the fact remains that it was a little difficult for me to enact the glamorous part as I am not always comfortable that way," states Esha, saying she worked a lot on her body to look the part. This trained Odissi dancer might be choosing different roles "to experiment" with her range, but she laments that she has not yet got a script that would bring out her talent as a classical dancer. "What I am doing in most films is latkas and jhatkas, which is sometimes fun,but is not creatively satisfying. I wish I get a film that showcases my dancing skills," she says.

When Esha made her debut with Koi Mere Dil Se Pooche, opposite Sanjay Kapoor, people had a lot of expectations, as she is the daughter of talented parents, Dharmendra and Hema Malini. But in the film industry, she wasn't welcome. She admits, "Being a child of famous parents doesn't pay. In fact, it proves counterproductive. The moment the industry people get to know you are a star-child, you get negative vibes. The journey stops being smooth. I can't fathom the reason, but being straightforward, I don't feign ignorance about their attitude. I wear that on my face. I am a bad person that way, you know," she laughs.

RANA SIDDIQUI

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