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Photo: V. Sudershan

No mere accessory Soha Ali Khan

“The film is set in the film industry of the 1950s and early ‘60s and Nikhat is an actor. Sudhir was looking for a classic beauty and according to him I am one. I know Vidya Balan was his first choice but I don’t know what went wrong with her.” Although she has done meaningful films such as ‘Srikant’ and ‘Antarmahal’ early in her career, Soha says Sudhir had watched only ‘Rang De Basanti.’ “A very self-confident director, he felt he can make me do this complex role.”

Calling it the biggest challenge by far, Soha says now she can’t complain that she didn’t get the opportunity. “‘Rang De Basanti’ is close to my heart but in ‘Khoya Khoya…,’ I have a sense of ownership. It’s an author-backed role where I get to portray different emotions. Nikhat is ambitious but vulnerable at the same time. There was a social stigma attached to girls working in films those days and then of course the casting couch… some things that I have not experienced at all. So it was difficult to handle those emotions.”

Help came from mother Sharmila Tagore. “Though she was active in the ‘60s, she grew up seeing Madhubala, Meena Kumari and Waheeda Rehman. She gave me a fair idea of how life was for an actress in those days.” With Nikhat are we just revisiting Waheeda’s personal life? “I have heard people speculating that the film is inspired by Guru Dutt and Waheedaji’s life or is a remake of ‘Kagaz Ke Phool.’ This is not true. Sudhirji told me Nikhat is a combination of Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Waheeda Rehman and one more actor that he knew but didn’t want to reveal.” Sharmila also passed on her personal jewellery and saris to Soha to bring alive the period.

We hardly see girls with a degree in International Relations and leaving a career in investment banking for acting in films. “I don’t think that acting is a dumb profession and I am not the only one with a good educational background in the industry.” At the same time, she admits that her father had reservations about her acting career. “Not because I am a girl but because he didn’t want my education to go waste. Even today when I am economically independent, he has not come to terms with the fact. He is just resigned to it.”

Soha says her study of the industry shows that though the social stigma associated with the actresses in the ‘50s is no longer there, the quality of roles has gone down. “Acting as a career for girls has found acceptance in society but there are no scripts like “Aan” or “Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam” being written these days.”

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