An Exclusive Interview With Antra Mali

Antra is Bollywood’s latest oomph girl. The sexy new avatar marks a radical change from Antra’s no make-up act in Ramu’s much acclaimed previous venture, Company. Little wonder that everyone is sitting up and taking notice.

The euphoria from Company must have sunk in fully by now. Your portrayal of Kannu fetched you much critical acclaim.
Well, I have not got as much acclaim as appreciation for my choice of films. Yes, in Company people did appreciate my performance. Again, because of the change in image in Road, people are sitting up and taking notice. People are telling me: “Wow! Finally you have arrived.” But now again I have to break this image for my next film.

Was that the only reason you did the film – because of Tanuja?
Yes, and because of her conviction that a heroine can be the central character.
Sounds like you are really wary of image traps. Do you constantly want to shock the audiences?
Yes, I am very wary of being typecast. Besides, as an actor it is my duty to give the audiences something new every time they go to see my films. I don’t want to keep churning out the same stuff. I had better be competent at what I am doing. If I am not good at my job, I should be trying out something else.

There were quite a few setbacks at the beginning of your career, what with Mast not fetching you much attention…
Well, I wouldn’t call Mast a setback. A setback happens when you have not anticipated something. But I was always prepared for difficulties and challenges.

The success of Company must have been a dream come true.
Well, I would not use the word dream, but yes, I had visualized that making certain tough choices early in my career would help me later. Quality producers and directors have appreciated my choices and want to take me in films that they are passionate about. I would like to work with directors who are serious about their work so I can throw myself into their films with equal passion. I want to give the message that I am very serious about my work and would go as far as I can for a character. I do not want to play safe.

Who are the actors in Bollywood that have left an impact on you?
Smita Patil is one actress whose performances I have loved consistently. I loved her in Bhoomika. I admire Sanjeev Kumar. I think the world of Madhuri Dixit, who has the most gorgeous smile. I have never seen anyone dance like her in Indian cinema. She is magic. I also love Kajol who holds the screen like no one else. She can just be herself on the screen and attract people. Amol Palekar has been another favourite. And of course, there is Amitabh Bachchan.

I believe he more than returned the compliment when he called you up and praised your performance in Company.
(Blushes and giggles) Yes, he appreciated my work, but I would not like to talk about this. It is very personal.

How did you react to the idea of playing a slum girl when it was narrated to you?
My role in Company appealed to me instantly. Even now it gives me goose flesh that I got to do such a lovely character. I wore no make-up in the film. I feel make-up must complement one’s performance; if a role demands no or little make-up, an artist should go along with it. There is no hard and fast rule that you have to wear a lot of make-up.

In a fiercely competitive industry, Company and Road enabled you to make that crucial jump from a supporting to a lead actress.
I am playing a supporting actress in Road as well. I feel every actor supports the film and the rest of the cast. So I am not the lead heroine of Road but am supporting Vivek Oberoi and Manoj Bajpai.

Even in Company, you had the meatier female role and overshadowed Manisha Koirala…
I don’t think I see any other actress doing the role Manisha played in Company. Her body language and the dignity she brought to the character made the role of Saroja look so beautiful. It was a brilliant casting choice. It’s some people’s perception that I overshadowed Manisha. But I would not endorse that. As I said I just want to support my film and my cast. I have no delusions that I was the lead or anything. Even if I have five good scenes, like I did in Mast, I would still do the film. I have no problems doing cameo roles. As an artist I do not put any restrictions on myself. The moment I do that I am lost and become somebody that I don’t want to be.

Tell us more about Road, which seems to be a genre-setting and radical film.
Road revolves around three characters and takes place on a road. You could say the road is the main protagonist of the film. It is a very unusual film and enabled me to do something dramatically different after Company. It posed several challenges including continuity problems. The film had to be shot in patches because the other actors are very busy people and had to juggle shooting schedules. I had to come up with the same expression that I had a month ago in a close-up.

Tell us about your character in the film.
Laxmi, my character is an intelligent woman. Unlike Kannu who comes from the lower strata of society and has seen the harsh realities of life, Laxmi in Road is more sheltered but she has an inner strength that can get her out of situations. She is a girl of the new millennium. When she wants something, she is pushy about it. She is not shy or coy but is very aggressive about what she wants to do in life. She has a funny side as well.

With the promos, showing you in an ultra-glamourous and sexy image, you are being hailed as Bollywood’s latest oomph girl. But one senses a certain unease within you vis-a-vis this image.
When I did Road I went all out. But now that the film is over and done with, I do not want to be stuck with an image. I know the media means well and wants to project me as a glamorous person but as an actor I know the repercussions I will have to face. Filmmakers will want to only cast me in glamorous roles. Suddenly everybody wants to see me beautiful. But I don’t want to do glamorous roles unless I get a completely different story and context. But I want to do films that are interesting and excite the actor in me. I want to break images.

Speculation also goes that you have replaced Urmila as Ramu’s blue-eyed girl…
I think Urmila is a beautifully groomed person. If my looks are in any way compared to hers, I think it shows tremendous growth for me from Company to Road. But I don’t think an awful lot about it. As far as I am concerned Road is over and done with. Now I want to concentrate on my next film.

You and Vivek are already a popular screen pair after Company. And Road further highlights that chemistry. How comfortable were you while performing the steamy number ‘Makhmali badan’.
I love the camera and perform all my steamy numbers to the camera, not to anybody else. I just want to gobble up the camera. Vivek and I are a great professional team. We work really well together. I’ve loved having him as my co-star but we have not interacted much off the sets. If we are put together in a film and chemistry works, it’s brilliant. As an actor I am portraying a certain character, so it’s not me Antra Mali but Laxmi you see sizzling over there. Or while I was Kannu, I was not Antra anymore. So all the inhibitions, problems and thought processes of Antra were left behind.

You and Ramu go back all the way to your first film Prem Katha. After that you have done three films under the Ram Gopal Varma banner. How do you relate to him?
I love working with people who are passionate about their work. And who is more driven than Ramuji. When he narrates my characters to me, I see them. My relationship with Ramuji has not changed much. I am always competing with him. Because I want to transcend his image of my character. But I have done films outside of Varma Corporation as well. Such as Khiladi 420 and Urf Professor.

You and Ramu go back all the way to your first film Prem Katha. After that you have done three films under the Ram Gopal Varma banner. How do you relate to him?
I love working with people who are passionate about their work. And who is more driven than Ramuji. When he narrates my characters to me, I see them. My relationship with Ramuji has not changed much. I am always competing with him. Because I want to transcend his image of my character. But I have done films outside of Varma Corporation as well. Such as Khiladi 420 and Urf Professor.

I read in one of his interviews that Ramu appreciates women for their beauty and sexuality, not their intelligence?
I cannot speak for all his heroines but I cannot be treated badly. I demand respect and will not tolerate anyone treating me shabbily. I am a competent actress and when I come on the set I make sure I deliver. And if you stand up for yourself, no one can treat you badly.

Your next film is Anurag Kashyap’s Gulal, right?
Yeah. Gulal had got stalled because of Paanch. It’s a political drama based in Rajasthan. It’s a college film and how the political system of a college links with town level politics and then to state-and national level politics. It’s a very realistic college film based on true-life incidents and stories. The pre-production work on the film has started. I have always believed in the film and in Anurag. He is a brilliant director. In fact I am a lot in love with Anurag. I keep telling his wife Aarti that all the time. He has such tremendous passion for his work. And he is as mad as I am. When we are in a room together, we just crack up. He is a magical director. I remember there was a scene in the film that I had perceived in a certain way. But Anurag suggested otherwise and took me to a level that even I could not have imagined.

Does that fact that you don’t figure in Ramu’s next film Bhooth bother you?
Varma Corporation is making a lot of films and I am glad I got to do quality films with them. And I am now looking forward to working with other people. I really am. The choices a director or a producer makes are not up to me. If I am pertinent to a certain role, I will be taken. If not, why would I even expect somebody to cast me? That would be a very petty and ridiculous mindset. I don’t have it. I am doing another film with Varma Corporation called Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon with Rajpal Yadav as my leading man. Isn’t that cute?