Q. First of all congratulations on the success of your film 'The Tashkent Files'. How was the overall experience of shooting in the film? Please describe in few words.
A. Thank you so much! It was a unique experience to work on the Tashkent Files. The concept is very different to begin with, we have seen biopics, period dramas but a film that investigates something that happened 53 years ago in a contemporary setting is unheard of! There are very few films in the world like that. It is based on true events which adds to the relevance of the subject. I am a BMM graduate, I have studied journalism so it was easy to slip into my character. And as an artist it was amazing to work with one of the finest actors of the industry, got to learn so much from all of them. This is was my second film with Mithun sir (we did a bangla film earlier in 2007 - ek nodir golpo, a father-daughter relationship story) and my 3rd film with Naseer uncle (Naseeruddin Shah) Iqbal 2005, short film interior cafe night 2015 and now this. Q. Nobody had expected the film to do so well with such low screen counts and less publicity, but it clicked with the masses and how? What do you think about the film that clicked the most with the audiences? A. Audience is king! As an actor, my choice is work is always based on my instincts as an audience first, I try seeing it that way. Because it is very difficult to fool the audience today. Audience want real stories and characters they relate to, whatever setting the story chooses. In a time of so many streaming platforms, releasing a film is difficult and for it to sustain in theater for 4 weeks is overwhelming! The fact that The Tashkent Files proves that audience is hungry for new content and they decide what works for them. Q. As an artist, box office performance of a film is one's beyond control. Still how does box office results of a film matter to you? A. Yes and no. Obviously when a film does well at the box office it makes a lot of noise, which means it gets industryâs attention as well. But at the same time there are a lot of films that do not (even in the past) perform well at box office are become iconic cinema in the future. On the other hand there are bad, and I mean bad films that enter 100 and 200 crore clubs that disappear from audience memory as soon as they leave theaters. So cannot tell... Q. Tell us about a scene you have a tough time shooting for 'The Tashkent Files'? A scene you found difficult to enact or you can share something from behind the scenes stories. A. Now all of us actors shared a great comradely and net for readings and work shops before we started filming which made the shoot so smooth. All the committee scenes were wonderful. But the last scene, the climax was. 20 minute long scene and I had an 8 page monologue. Vivek sir asked me if I wanted to break it into 2-3 parts and do it over 2 days. I assured him that I will memorize the lines and that he need not compromise for me, production wise. Which I did. In fact during the shoot of that scene I transcended and only had Lal Bahadur Shastrijis image in my mind. I could not see or hear anyone else around me. It is kind of scary, when mind is in that state but also very satisfying as an actor. I also improvised in the flow like the line â I am a tax paying youth of the country â that dialogue wasnât there in the script, it just came out of my mouth out of no where. "when a film does well at the box office it makes a lot of noise, which means it gets industryâs attention as well. But at the same time there are a lot of films that donât (even in the past) perform well at box office are become iconic cinema in the future. On the other hand there are bad, and I mean bad films that enter 100 and 200 crore clubs that disappear from audience memory as soon as they leave theatres. So canât tell..."Q. You are a multi-talented facet who is just not a great actor, but a documentary filmmaker, a music enthusiast, script consultant, a writer, short film maker. With so much of things going for you, how do you balance all these and secondly, why is acting that excites you the most? A. I have produced short films, I have never made one. Being a BMM graduate, photography, documentary making, writing was part of my course. I have no aspirations to direct. I made ROOTS, my documentary film (available on Netflix) for the love of classical music as I had learnt Sitar and wanted to know why there is a decline in classical music interest in youth today. After my graduation I worked at Phantom Films as a script consultant which works for me as an actor now, as that experience helps me recognize good scripts from the bad one, so did the experience of assisting Anurag Kashyap. I do write a lot, yes. Maybe I will publish some day. But for now, I only want to concentrate on acting, it makes me very nostalgic. It takes me back to Makdee and Iqbal âs set, which was like a picnic and I have such fond memories of it. Movies for me is like magic, I realized that when I watched Makdee. I was in awe when I saw two of me on screen (I played double role of Chunni and Munni) and that is what I feel everytime I go on a set. Magic! Q. The memories of 'Makdee' are still fresh in minds of people. Whenever we mention Shweta, the first thing that comes to mind is the film and songs of Makdee. Does it bother you that a section of people are still stuck with the memories and it's time to move on? Please share your thoughts? A. Haha! Not at all. How many actors have that? The fact that even after 17 years people think about Makdee is great but of course as an actor it is my greatest competition. The bar is so high with Makdee, that it will take me many more films to at least match that :) Q. As a child artist to a grown up actress today, you have been through different modes of filmmaking, how much of change you have experienced in the art of filmmaking in all these years. A. Not that I knew much when I acted in Makdee and Iqbal, but I come from a family where music, literature and cinema had a very strong presence. We watched a lot of quality films at home. By the time I was a teenager, I had already seen all of Bimal Roy, Rah Kapoor, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Basu Chatterjee, Satyajit Ray films along with other films. I watched because every weekend my family watched and discussed them. As I grew up, I started attending short film clubs and film festivals because of my BMM course and friends. My understanding of cinema is more as an audience than an actor, honestly. I feel this is the best phase of cinema in a long time! People are experimenting, there are streaming sites without censorship that makes the content creators to make more stuff, audience is hungry and producers are bold. We are still scratching the surface, we still need to make more horror, sci-fi, animation but what is being made is amazing! I mean, Andhadhun, tumbbad, The Tashkent Files, Newton and other films are making noise and are emerging as Box office successes. â Also as an actor itâs a very time right now. There is work for everyone, Neena Gupta is doing Badhai ho, Shefali Shah is doing Delhi crimes, Zaira Wasim to Nawazuddin being the current star to Pankaj Tripathi the busiest actor in the industry. It is a good time! Q. We have observed that the roles you have played so far are strong female protagonists whether its Chunni from Makee, Nandini from Chandra - Nandini and now Raagini Phule from The Tashkent Files? What do you look in a character before signing a project? A. A bit of me and bit of someone who I want to discover as an actor. Characters make stories, it is important to do roles that stay with people forever. "I feel this is the best phase of cinema in a long time! People are experimenting, there are streaming sites without censorship that makes the content creators to make more stuff, audience is hungry and producers are bold. We are still scratching the surface, we still need to make more horror, sci-fi, animation but whatâs being made is amazing! I mean, Andhadhun, tumbbad, Tashkent Files, Newton and other films are making noise and are emerging as Box office successes."Q. In The Tashkent Files, your character Raagini is tech-savvy just like today's youth. Social Media has its own benefits and disadvantages, While it has given people a voice to share their opinion, While on the other hand, anyone takes offense in anything and starts trolling. What's your perceptive on this? A. Technology has always had extreme sides. It has made us progress and also escalated global warming. Social media, well to each is there own. I like the fact that people have voice today, they have an outlet to their opinions and are heard, they have the power no doubt. As for the trolls, they are so entertaining and also very transitory in nature. As for jobless people venting out their frustration on social media, I do not think anyone cares for them. Q. What are your upcoming projects? We am sure your fans must be thrilled to know. A. Thank you, my next feature film tentatively titled Jamun is in the post production stage right now, we just finished the dubbing. It is a father daughter story. It has myself along with Raghubeer Yadav. We shot for it in September last year. My character has a disability of sorts, although I do not think it is. I cannot share more details. But the story revolves around this father trying to get his daughter married and how is â disability â becomes a road block as it does not fit in the description of â beauty â set in our society. It questions the benchmark we have set in society about beauty. Itâs a beautiful story. It should be out second half of this year, hopefully. Q. Lastly, a message for your fans out there A. I love you all very, very much! Makdee to The Tashkent Files, thank you for your love and support, your comments, fan mails, reactions make my day! This interview was exclusively taken via email : Please contact us at [email protected] for fan requests and Interviews Image courtesy - Shweta Basu Prasad
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