Riya Sen

Back in her Ballygunge home after shooting Deepa Sahi’s directorial debut Tere Mere Phere, Riya Sen tells t2 how she’s loving the “commercial yet arty” films coming her way...

How did you bag Deepa Sahi’s Tere Mere Phere?

Well, out of the blue! I got a call from Deepa Sahi and went to meet her without any preconceived notions as I wasn’t getting too many good offers of late. She offered me a role and said she was still looking for finances. I said okay. Then she called me after two months and said, ‘We are shooting in 15 days and we want your dates for 20 days’. Her husband, Ketan Mehta, is the producer of the film. They told me that they wanted only me in the film after watching Love Khichdi, where I think I had just about five scenes! I couldn’t believe that someone would cast me after seeing Love Khichdi!... I read the script of Tere Mere Phere, which is a comedy, only after signing the film. After shooting, I realised that my role and the film were much better than the one I had read at the script level.

What do you play in the film?

I play a traditional Himachali girl called Muskan and I wear Himachali outfits. Muskan is very delicate and dainty but she is actually a live wire, very strong-willed. I am opposite Vinay Pathak and my character appears in the second half of the film. But the length of the role doesn’t bother me nowadays. Even if I am offered two scenes in a film and if those two scenes make an impact, I am game.

How was Deepa as a director?

She was great. There were 60 people in the unit and she was the captain of the ship. No one could say anything to her and at the same time she was so quiet and composed. Technically she is very, very sound.

With Tere Mere Phere and Rituparno Ghosh’s Noukodubi, do you think you have entered a different phase in your career?

Oh yeah, totally. Rituparno Ghosh and Deepa Sahi’s films are completely different from what I have done before. Noukodubi is commercial yet very arty; Deepa Sahi’s film is commercial yet I don’t play a glamour doll in it. It’s more like an off-beat commercial film. As an actress, both films were a great opportunity for me.

Have you seen Deepa Sahi’s work?

I had seen her in Maya Memsaab a long time back. She is a very good actress. Her acting is very natural, not overdone or put on. I think she is a very good director for women actors.

In what ways is a woman director different from a male director?

I’m not saying that male directors are different but that every film is a different experience.... Deepa Sahi gave me a lot of respect and importance — not because I am Riya Sen or an actress, but because I am a woman and I had agreed to travel alone. We’ve shot in places like Narkanda and Sojha in Himachal Pradesh where there are no five-star hotels but she took such good care of my lodging... she made sure that I was comfortable.

So, have you quit your glam doll image for now?

I am not drifting towards a different kind of cinema, rather I am enjoying what I am doing. But it’s weird that once you start doing these kinds of films, your commercial offers get fewer and fewer. I am getting more offers of this kind now. But no complaints. I am loving it!

What are your upcoming films?

Yunus Sajawal’s Benny and Babloo with Rajpal Yadav and Kay Kay Menon is up for release. Also Kaaran Chowdhury’s Tara Sitara.... But now I would love to do a commercial film in Tollywood. I think commercial Bengali films have really improved technically and content-wise. There are some good directors making commercial films in Calcutta.