Picture by Anindya Shankar Ray

You are turning a year older on the 7th. What number will that be?

Don’t you think I am getting younger by the day! So let’s not discuss age.

So, how do you plan to celebrate your birthday?

Well, like every year this year too, I will spend time with underprivileged children. Sanjay (husband) will plan something for the evening, obviously he will not reveal anything and there will be a surprise party like every year. I will be with my family in the evening.

Are you a true-blue Scorpio?

Well, I don’t sting back! (Laughs.) I’ve heard that there are two types of Scorpios — the emotional type and the extremely vindictive type. I am very sentimental and emotional. I don’t give it back to people even if they harm me. I let go. People have hurt me a lot, they still do but I never attack them back. I wish I was a little more intelligent and used my talent in a better way. Then I could have got more out of life.

You regret that?

I don’t regret. But yes, professionally I could have achieved a lot more.... But then that’s the kind of person I am and I am happy. Every individual has some principles. Mine is to follow the heart and not the head.

How are you planning your career now?

I want to do interesting films. Last year there were quite a few family ups and downs. My father passed away. Then I conceived.... There are a couple of interesting films I am doing which will release next year. I want to do glamorous roles as well as play characters with substance. I want to do meaty roles in Bollywood. I made huge mistakes by doing random films in Mumbai. I want to correct it by doing more meaningful films.

Are you yet to land your dream role?

Yes. Though I have been a part of some excellent films, I feel I am yet to get my dream role. I want to get into more complicated zones. I want to play Cleopatra!

You’ve cut down on Tolly potboilers...

Yes, that’s because I want to show my audience that I can do much more. But the bilingual film Murder, which is up for release in December, is a very commercial film.... I might have cut down on the number of commercial films but I have always said that I am a product of commercial films and I will continue to do them. My home production, Potadar Kirtee, is ready for release too.

What films are you busy with?

Agnidev Chatterjee’s Charulata 2011 is ready for release. I am very happy with the way the film has shaped up. I have a very different role... a woman who’s modern and tech-savvy. I am also doing a relationship film with Partha Sen. I have started shooting for Satabdi Roy’s Om Shanti, where I play a renowned dancer. I am glad I got the opportunity to work with another woman director after Aparna Sen (Paromitar Ekdin).... I am supposed to do Suman’s (Mukhopadhyay) next film, which is based on a Tagore work. And I am doing Sekhar Das’s upcoming film.

What do you play in Sekhar Das’s film?

I can’t reveal much. All I can say is that I play a mysterious woman with negative shades. Raima Sen, Tota Roy Chowdhury and Shaheb Chatterjee are there too. Oh, I am also doing Shibu’s (Shiboprosad ‘Ichche’ Mukhopadhyay) next project when it happens.

Have you sorted out your differences with Shiboprosad?

Let’s not talk about all that. I think the success of Ichche is what mattered at the end of the day. I am very happy and it’s everybody’s success.

You’ve apparently hired a personal trainer to get back in shape...

Yes. I put on weight after my daughter’s (Rishona) birth and I have to shed all of it. I do free-hand exercises and a little bit of yoga. I don’t follow a diet but I eat less.

Films she considers milestones in her career

Dahan, because I got my first National Award for it quite unexpectedly. Besides, Dahan marked my foray into meaningful cinema.

Paromitar Ekdin, because playing a mature woman didn’t come easy to me, but Aparna Sen (director) guided me beautifully. She is also the most sought after director.

Sudhu Ekbar Bolo, Sasurbari Zindabad and Moner Manush (1997) with Prosenjit.

Sujan Sakhi with Abhishek Chatterjee and Sansar Sangram with Chiranjit because they were all huge box-office hits.

Alo, because working with Tarun Majumdar is an experience of a lifetime.

Chaturanga, because I portrayed Damini, Tagore’s rebel woman, in the film.

Kushali Nag

What’s your birthday wish for Rituparna? Tellt2@abp.in