I REALLY ENJOYED IT!

I watched Hate Story while dubbing for the film, a couple of months ago. Usually we get to see only our portions while dubbing, but since I’m there in every frame I watched the entire film! But that was work.

On Thursday evening, I watched the film at PVR Cinemas (Mumbai) at a closed-door premiere with the entire cast and crew... and I really enjoyed it! Everyone liked the film and the performances. But then these are people who I’ve worked with. Now I am waiting for the audience reaction.

I want to thank Hate Story cinematographer (Attar Singh Saini) for making me look so good! For the first time I wore a gown in one of the scenes and I thought I looked good (laughs)!

WHEN KAVYA ENTERS THE MEN’S LOO!

While doing Hate Story was a very challenging experience, the most difficult scene was the one in which my character Kavya enters the men’s loo and says, “Main woh har kaam karti hoon jo manaa hai.” You see, the dialogue holds a lot of water but I had to say it in a very simple manner because that was the brief from Vivek (Agnihotri, director), and that was difficult. The abortion scene was also very tough.

I NEVER USE SLANG WORDS, BUT...

Plus, there are too many bold lines and cuss words, but I didn’t find that difficult (laughs). Personally, I never use slang words, but in the film I was okay because Kavya is a very modern, independent girl from Delhi. I have seen girls from Delhi and Mumbai with a different perspective towards life. Being born and brought up in Calcutta, I was different. Kavya goes through a lot and that makes her really tough. She is a girl of 2012 and if she wants to, she will use expletives.

SHE USES HER BODY AS A WEAPON

Kavya uses her body as a weapon to seek revenge. See, if you get to play a character who is close to you it becomes convenient but to become someone who is just the opposite of what you are is a challenge and Kavya is not like me in any way.

BOLD SCENES, DIFFICULT WITH JOYDA AND COMFORTABLE WITH GULSHAN

Hate Story is unlike any other erotic thriller. Each scene is shot stylistically and the bold scenes are in sync with the film. Frankly, I did not find Hate Story bold, but the intimate scenes with Joyda (Sengupta) were difficult as they are very in-your-face....

Rarely do you get to be a part of a film where everything falls into place and Hate Story is one such film. Every frame of Hate Story is unique, beautiful...

I was very comfortable with the bold scenes with Gulshan (Devaiah). We hit it off instantly and that’s why while shooting the intimate scenes with him we did not go for many takes. Some of my favourite scenes are with him. Like the scene where Gulshan gets the shock of his life seeing Kavya at a board meeting. Oh, I love that scene (laughs)! The film has a beautiful pace and it’s very, very entertaining.

I LOVED MY GLAMOROUS LOOK

As a performer I am never satisfied with what I do on screen. I always feel I could have been better, but I am happy because the hard work shows. Besides, for the first time I saw my glamorous avatar on screen and that is something I really liked. I loved my look (giggles).

Whatever films I have done so far in Bengal, I have sported almost a deglamorised, no-make-up look, be it in Moner Manush, Kaalbela or Takhan Teish.

EACH CHARACTER HAS A UNIQUENESS

I also want to mention that I have always chosen to play characters that have no similarity with any of the characters that I have played. Komli in Moner Manush is completely different from Madhabilata in Kaalbela. That is something that I want to maintain throughout my career as an actress because that is what challenges me and excites me. That is why it becomes difficult for me to compare one role with another.

When people ask me which is my best performance till date, I can’t say because each of the characters has a certain uniqueness and they are as different as chalk and cheese. Personally I feel I could have done much much better with all the characters that I have played in various films so far, but I guess every performer feels that way.

WAITING FOR MOM’S FEEDBACK

I am in Mumbai for another week and I won’t be able to watch Hate Story with my family. But my parents have told me that they are going to watch the first day, first show. I’m nervous because my mom is my biggest critic and I’m waiting for her feedback!

(As told to Kushali Nag)

 

Paoli Dam in Hate Story goes where no other leading lady in a mainstream Bollywood film has gone before. Right on top!

Blatant sexual overture, uninhibited titillation, dirty talk and a lot of action between the sheets — the Tolly siren does it all in her maiden Bolly film. Paoli’s Kavya — an honest go-getter with the world at her feet who finds her world come crashing down one day — is a woman who celebrates her sexuality, using her body as the passport to money, power… and finally revenge.

She knows what men want and gives it to them, and how! She leads them on, taps their erogenous zones, titillates them to the point of submission and ultimately compels them to do what she wants.

This may not be a film that will earn plaudits for its story or performances, but it packs in enough SEX to leave the average Bolly watcher shaken and stirred.

The two-minute uncensored YouTube trailer prepares one in terms of what to expect in the two hours of Hate Story. t2 tracked the Paoli lust-o-meter at the first day, first show at Fame (South City).

SHE KISSES, SHE BITES

The first of the film’s many lovemaking scenes comes within the first 20 minutes. Swept off her feet by her boss Siddharth (Gulshan Devaiah), Kavya spends the night with him. Kissing… tonguing… biting… on the bed and in the shower, Paoli is uninhibited. The sex is steamy, but director Vivek Agnihotri stops short of making it too graphic.

SHE GETS WHAT SHE WANTS

The sex scenes between Paoli and Joy Sengupta are a lot bolder. Here, it is the woman who calls the shots,with the man more than willing to follow. She strips him… she urges him to slip off her underwear… she blindfolds him… she leads him to bed. They move on to a bathtub. She slips off her bathrobe — the camera just stops above her waist, but you get a peek at her breasts. She knows every move is being monitored on close-circuit cameras by those out to get her, but that does nothing to stop her.

SHE ROMPS IN THE RAIN

Paoli’s sex scene with Mohan Kapur (who plays a corrupt politician) is toned down. There is none of the action shown in the trailer (picture top). He takes off her shirt in the rain… she kisses him passionately… they romp in the rain, roll in the grass. And the scene ends.

SHE TAKES IT, SHE FAKES IT

A lot of the shock value in Hate Story lies in what you hear rather than what you see. “I f*** with those who f*** with me” almost functions as the film’s tagline.

Kavya’s explanation to friend Vicky (Nikhil Dwivedi) on being out of home the whole night is: “I was with him all night… on the same bed… naked… we had sex.”

She raises eyebrows with: “Main iss sheher ki sabse badi r**** banna chahti hoon.” “Maine sex kiya hai… lekin usse jise pyaar kiya hai. Mujhe tumse seekhna hai ki jise pyaar nahin karte usse sex kaise karte hain,” a newbie Kavya asks of a veteran in the trade. The top tip: “Take it, shake it and fake it!” Paoli in Hate Story sure takes it and shakes it.

Priyanka Roy