While 2007 saw her in four films- Raqeeb, Dhol, Speed and Good Boy Bad Boy - only one of them, Dhol, did decent business. But, Tanushree Dutta is unfazed. Ever the optimist, she is looking forward to her film Rama-The Saviour, which will see her in a completely different avatar. We caught up with the dusky beauty over a cuppa.Excerpts:
Yet another New Year...Did you make any resolutions at the start of the year?
Not really. I don't have any resolutions. But yes, I have been eating too much and now since I have been working out for my film, I want to keep it that way. So my New Year resolution would be to keep fit and in shape.
You said you have been working out very hard for a movie. Is it Rama-The Saviour that you're talking about?
Yes, for my film Rama-The Saviour. I play an action oriented role. It's fun as I have never done action before. I had to workout and get fit for this role. It really tested my fitness!
Tell us about the movie...
It's a children's film with lots of adventure. There are quite a few animals too. We shot in Thailand. Can't tell you much about the story, but there is a lot of action. It's good because there are not too many films made for children here and kids are going to love it. Sahil Khan, who acted in Style, is playing the lead.
Seems like a lot of actress are turning to action! Priyanka Chopra is getting into the action mode for Drona and even Deepika Padukone's role in Chandni Chowk to China is a bit action oriented... Trust me; I don't think anyone has done what I have done with this film. Usually in Hindi films action for girls means slapping or pulling hair. But this film will see me in a proper action role just like the male actors. Of course, I haven't done them myself. All the safety measures were in place. So, I don't really do a summersault when I do it. Nevertheless, it has not been done by anyone before.
So, you are into action mode?
I would love to do more action roles. It's a lot of hard work but its fun. I enjoy doing it. Let's see how many gates open after this comes out. I am waiting for the results. For now, I rather show than talk.
We have quite a few heroines in Hollywood who are known for their stunts in action films. Do you have any favourites among them?
I like Charlize Theron. She has done some nice roles. She is a great actress.
So how did you train for this particular film?
We did train, but I would say it wasn't much. We didn't have much time before going to shoot. I just had a two-week training thing. It was not enough, but I didn't face proble
ms as I have kept fit generally. We had a big international crew, which was really good at the work. They helped us.Were you at any point afraid of the animals in the film?
Not at all. They are very cute and well behaved. In fact, the kids could be more dangerous than the animals. They came and did their work better than us! There are quite a few animals in the film actually. From pythons to snakes to chimpanzees! It was loads of fun.
You mean the kids were dangerous?
(Laughs) Not that. They are, in fact, more professional than most of us. Some children were more experienced than the rest of the crew and knew exactly what to do! Some of them have been facing the camera since they were just months old. They were better behaved than us. It was a pleasure working with children. They are quite a company and they know their work well. None of them would have mood swings and were much disciplined.
On a serious note, do you think that the film might have some problems with the animal rights activists?
I don't think so. The animals were treated really well. No one hit them once to get any thing done. There should not be any case of cruelty.
So did you have any dangerous stunts in the movie?
Since I have never done them before, they anyway appeared dangerous to me. But even then there were a couple of scenes which were tough. There is this scene when I had to do a summersault and land straight on my feet. I almost fell, but then there were suspenders and all other precautions were taken. So I did it fine and safe. There was one more scene when we had to cross this river with a strong current and we could not use any precautions as they could be seen otherwise. So we had to do it on our own. We managed it fine but it was tough.
So after turning an action girl, what next?
I want to play a psycho or a drug addict. I have always wanted to do such a crazy role. I think it would be quite a challenge.
You mean something like Urmila in Bhoot and Pyar Tune Kya Kiya?
Something like those roles. She did them pretty well. I would also like to do something like that in my own way.
Last year while your other films faded away, Dhol got you noticed...
I agree. Dhol is a film which got me much appreciation. Others didn't do well and I don't want people to remember them. They were bad films. Dhol was a chance to work with a great director like Priyadarshan. I have been getting most roles now from people who saw me in Dhol!
What exactly went wrong with Subhash Ghai's Good Boy Bad Boy?
I don't know. The script was good when it was brought to me. But I think something fell short while making it. So, it didn't do well.
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