Sarita Choudhury in Calcutta on Saturday. Picture by Aranya Sen

She made an impression as a vulnerable Indian girl displaced from her land in her debut film Mississippi Masala. Her role of a sultry Indian princess in Kama Sutra has been one of the most uninhibited portrayals on our screen. After a gap of more than a decade, Sarita Choudhury will be seen in an Indian film, For Real, the promotion of which brought her to Calcutta on Saturday.

How did For Real happen?

I was in India last year when Sona (Jain, the director) met me through a common acquaintance. She came up to me and said: ‘I have a film written for you and I would like to speak to you about it’. And I was like: ‘Sure’. And then I didn’t think much about it. She gave me the script and it took me a while to read it. And when I read it, I was shocked because the writing was so mature and beautiful. And I was like, ‘How can this little girl write about marriage, about a woman and being a mother?’ You know, I have just become a mother and there was something in the script that kind of connected. The character was also someone who grows up in London and then comes to India and it was actually me in real life. So I said yes because apart from everything else it gave me a chance to come back and work in the country where my father lived.

As a child, do you have any memories of Calcutta?

Calcutta when you are a child is very different from Calcutta when you become an adult. I now appreciate many things about the city that I didn’t when I was a kid. I remember my dad trying to help me jump over these dirty puddles and I would invariably fall! And then there were all these aunties who would try to feed me all the time! I have memories of being with my cousins and giggling about boys for hours. Now I don’t see Calcutta as dirty or noisy. I see it as this vibrant city full of beautiful contradictions. I am actually falling in love with Calcutta.

Coming back to For Real, how was it working with a first-time director after doing films with Mira Nair and M. Night Shyamalan?

When you are working with a first-time director, you are nervous about how he or she is going to direct you. But Sona never asked me for any advice; she was very sure of what she wanted. She knew what my strengths and weaknesses are and she directed me likewise. She drew me into the character and then left me to develop it.

How would you describe your character in the film?

As someone who has so much passion. She is a singer who leads a very bohemian life and then suddenly, she’s a mother, a wife and a housewife in Delhi. She finds herself secluded and in a very odd situation where she loves her children and her husband but she wants so much more. It’s about what happens to a woman who finally gets whatever she wants, but she realises that she still hasn’t got everything.

Why did you cut down on films after Mississippi Masala and Kama Sutra?

After Mississippi Masala and Kama Sutra, I settled in New York. I started doing theatre and I just kind of went with the flow and did whatever came my way. The Bollywood offers that were coming weren’t something that I could identify with or wanted to do. Theatre stimulated me and I realised that this was something that I could do and wanted to do. I was 24 when I did Mississippi Masala and I just wanted to have a good time. Today, I realise how lucky I was for Mira to offer me a film like that.

Why do an Indian film after so long?

I do watch quite a few Indian films too. Not so much Bollywood, but a lot of independent or so-called art house cinema. It just amazes me how the industry has evolved and now when I watch some films, I think: ‘Wow, I would love to be part of this’. It’s just that I don’t know how to fit in.

India has always been a part of me. I used to visit it every year in my younger days. I got quite a few offers even then but it’s just that I didn’t want to make the wrong movie.

Do you ever see yourself being a part of Bollywood?

I have just been here a week and already one director has asked me to do a film. But I really don’t know how I am going to figure out how to do it. But India now has a lot of young, creative and independent-minded directors and that’s an exciting prospect.

Bollywood is almost surreal. But it’s making some good cinema. You can feel that everyone’s pushing the limit, but it still lives in a very artificial bubble. My question really is: ‘What do the people of India really want?’ Because they clearly love their movies and their Bollywood. Escapism is probably something that the audience wants on some level and that’s where Bollywood works. And that’s probably why I am not in Bollywood. But I don’t want a Bollywood career. I want an independent career. In America, you can do both commercial and art house. Here it’s tougher.

But one old Bollywood film that I loved was Dil Se. Even though it was Bollywood, it dealt with a very serious issue. I wanted to be the girl (Malaika Arora Khan) dancing on top of the train! Do you think Irrfan Khan or Naseeruddin Shah could dance on top of the train with me?

Are you comfortable with Hindi?

I can speak Hindi but I can’t sustain it over a whole movie. In the independent scene, I have seen a lot of films in which someone has stayed in London and then they come back to Bombay and that is a character that I could play. But I am planning to come to India and stay for a while and learn Hindi and Bangla.

How do you go about choosing a script?

You can never know which one will work actually. But I am getting better at it. For me, it’s the simple moments treated well in a script that work. But I think to choose a good script you need some kind of intelligence behind your eyes and thankfully I have been blessed with that.

How do you prepare for a role?

I could never tell you my method because that’s a secret (smiles). I do a lot of work. I am trained in theatre and so I take time to study and get into the skin of a character. If you ever watch me at theatre rehearsals you will know what a bad actress I am. I am bad... bad… bad... and then by opening night, it all just falls into place. In Rafta Rafta (a British stage comedy), they wanted me to play the comedic role of an old woman with glasses and I just couldn’t get it right. But I learnt to love the character and by the opening night, I didn’t want to get out of those glasses! After that, I played a boy on stage and it took me about two weeks to perfect the walk. But when I got it, I just got it.

Any roles that you regret doing?

I am the kind of person who always turns a regret into something positive. Even when I did Rafta Rafta, I had the role of the older lady with the glasses and I was like: ‘What do you think you are doing offering me a role like that?’ During rehearsals, watching all the other women actors in glamorous roles I really regretted taking up a character like that. But then I told myself: ‘I am an actress and I have to do every kind of role’. I went ahead and I did it. So actually my regrets always turn into the biggest moments in my career.

Is there any role you would love to do?

There is this film called La Femme Nikita. I want to play something like that. This woman with a gun in her hand but with tears in her eyes. I would love to play that kind of vulnerability on screen.

Will Indian actors have it easier in Hollywood after Archie Panjabi’s Emmy win?

For sure. I have worked with Archie in that show (The Good Wife) and she is always like: ‘Oh I like that character, she’s not an Indian girl and I am going to go after it’. She doesn’t trap herself and doesn’t let other people trap her. She thinks out of the box. That’s why she keeps getting these roles.

What was the last film you watched and liked?

District 9. I found it so heartbreaking and beautiful. At home, I watch Italian, Chinese, Spanish… I never watch American films. But I do like the Martin Scorsese of Raging Bull and Taxi Driver. I am a fan of independent cinema like Being John Malkovich. I enjoy the films of Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze. I grew up watching the Italian cinema of (Federico) Fellini and (Michelangelo) Antonioni. And then of course there is Satyajit Ray who is god!