Amisha Patel is excited about her next release Humraaz though keeps her fingers crossed over its fate at teh box office. She chats candidly about herself, her films and where her career is heading.
Is it true that your role in Humraaz is out and out negative?
Yes and no. Like Akshaye Khanna and Bobby Deol, I too have a predominantly negative role in Humraaz. But all three of us have both positive and negative shades throughout.
You primarily have a romantic image. Don't you feel it risky to tackle a negative role?
I do not think so. In Indian cinema today; it has become imperative for an actor to try different kinds of roles. If you succeed in doing justice to the character you are essaying, the audience is more than happy, whatever shades your role may have.What is exactly your role in Humraaz?
Humraaz is not a heroine oriented film. Each of the star characters is equally important. Though I am the focal point - a girl who is sandwiched between Bobby and Akshaye. Akshaye and I belong to a dance troupe. Plans take a twist because of me. I have to portray a scheming and conniving girl, quite different from the sweet and charming girl I have been in every film to date. I was also used to crying at the drop of a hat in films like Gadar? and Aap Mujhe...?. The change made some scenes very difficult. Though I never thought so, eventually as the film progressed, I started enjoying the role.Does Humraaz mean that you are now ready to take up negative roles too?
Humraaz has broadened my vision and instilled in me the thirst to tackle different characters in films of different genres rather than play safe by accepting only stereotyped roles. Today I am ready to take up even an out and out negative role.
What is the USP of the film from your point of view?
Till date, I have done seven films - Kaho Na Pyar Hai, Gadar Ek Prem Katha, Zindagi Ka Safar, Aap Mujhe Acchey Lagne Lage, Kya Yehi Pyar Hai, Kranti and Badri (Telugu). Humraaz will be my eighth in a span of just two and a half years. Yet no director has exploited my potential and talent as a dancer the way Abbas and Mustan have. The USP of Humraaz is that the viewers can see me at my best as a dancer.How did you find Abbas and Mustan?
Abbasbhai and Mustanbhai are very focused as directors. Till we got the emotions right, they never okayed a shot. The best thing about them is that there is no confusion at the shoot because they prepare the artistes right from the narration stage. Both gave me a three-hour narration for Humraaz, which is a rarity in the industry. Earlier I had a similar experience when Anil Sharma had narrated the script of Gadar?.How do you react to your hits and flops?
I treat each film like a child. I do not detach myself from a flop or go underground, nor float on cloud nine when I churn out a hit. Hits and flops are part and parcel of the game. You win some and lose some. When I look back, I feel perhaps I erred in judging scripts. But, I have no regrets. If all my films had clicked, I may have been scared to take up different roles.In what way have you grown from Kaho Na Pyar Hai to Humraaz?
Now I am able to better understand what my director wants. I am also trying to improve my dialogue delivery where I feel I am a little weak.What is your strength as an actress?
My parents have always been a great source of strength for me. My confidence in myself and in what I believe is also a plus point.And your weakness?
My short temper has always been my weakness.Is that why you are dubbed arrogant?
People term me arrogant only because I am educated, have a south Bombay background and my grandfather was a politician. You have a problem in this industry if you come from a good background. I am also termed inaccessible because I prefer reading a book on the sets instead of sitting and gossiping about others.You seem to be embroiled in controversies, your brawl with Karisma Kapoor at the Ehsaas 2002 Nite for example?
If I sit with a colleague like Karisma Kapoor in the van, the media writes that I have had a fight with her. If I sit with a male colleague like Salman Khan, the media starts insinuating that I am having an affair. I cannot possibly go on issuing clarifications when in the first place the media is bent on maligning me at the slightest of opportunity.So now your younger brother Ashmit Patel is entering films?
I just do not know when the acting bug bit Ashmit. When I first expressed my desire to enter films, he was against it. But now he is assisting Vikram Bhatt in direction. Vikram has promised to launch him shortly.Which are your forthcoming releases?
I am doing Rahe Na Rahe Hum and Parwana with Ajay Devgan, doing David Dhawan's Yeh Hai Jalwa opposite Salman Khan, Suno Sasurji with Aftab Shivdasani and acting in Bunty Soorma's film, which has been taken over by Vikram Bhatt after his untimely death.How do you see the future?
I am very glad that more and more young film makers like E. Niwas, Ramgopal Varma etc are ready to take risks because they have the confidence in themselves and their craft and do not need stars to sell their projects. If I get to work with directors like Tanuja Chandra and Vikram Bhatt, who do not fire their guns from the shoulders of the stars, I'd be very happy. But there is a lot of politics in the industry. Most people here lack passion - they make proposals but rarely work on their scripts.There seems to be an ongoing war between Kareena Kapoor and you. Why?
It is a tragedy that there are insecure people in the industry who are affected by my hits and flops more than theirs.
Jyothi Venkatesh
http://geocities.com/amishapage/
