Tannishtha with Florian Gallenberger at the 5th Marrakesh International Film FestivalThe cover of Brick Lane

Was the role of Nazneen first offered to Sameera Reddy? And how did you bag it?

The role wasn?t offered to Sameera Reddy. She too had screen-tested for it like me and many others. They (the British production unit) saw me in Florian Gallenberger?s Shadows of Time and called me for the screen test. Then they gave me the script; I read it and liked it very much.

Brick Lane is a challenging project in many ways?

Yes it is. As the film is based on a novel, people already have an image of Nazneen. So, one has to live up to their expectations. Second, I am not playing an Indian living in India. I have been familiar with all my other film characters, but Nazneen is extremely remote. She?s a first-generation Bangladeshi immigrant. She has been raised in a different background. It?s a different milieu, different political history, different language. The characters have a different life from mine. So it has taken me quite some time to understand them and Nazneen.

So, how did you prepare for it?

I read the script first and then the novel. Nazneen?s someone who has a closed, claustrophobic existence. But she slowly gains strength and is desperate to come out. I met a lot of people in London who have led her life. I observed their daily actions, their homes, the colours, the smell. I had to work on my language too. It?s a mix of English and Bengali spoken with a Bangladeshi accent. The English accent is also different, something they have picked up in London. I have a language coach guiding me.

Have you met Monica Ali?

No, but I would be meeting her soon. I will be working in London till August.

Where are you shooting at the moment?

We are shooting on location at London?s East End. It?s being very hectic but it?s quite an experience. I have very good co-actors and Satish Kaushik is playing my husband.

We rehearsed for four weeks and have started shooting only a couple of days ago.

How is British director Sarah Gavron giving shape to the film vis-?-vis the book?

She is brilliant; she gives a lot of emphasis on detailing. This film is about Nazneen and a few other characters, about their journey and where they reach in their lives. So, the human element has to be brought out. It?s not so much about brilliant cinematography. Besides, several contemporary themes, such as identity crises of immigrants and the backlash of the fundamentalist movement, have been woven into the script, which are not there in the book. These have enriched the film a lot.

You seem to have become a favourite of foreign collaborative films?

I am a trained actor (from NSD) and India doesn?t have too many trained actors. So when I go for a screen test I don?t face much competition. If I fit into the character physically it?s not much of a problem for me. After NSD, I stayed in Europe for some time working with theatre directors and I learnt a lot there. It?s a different kind of acting that the West wants. While shooting for Shadows, Florian would always tell me, ?no acting, be normal?. The stress is on detailing and subtlety, which is also my kind of acting. And then one film opens the doors to another. After Partha Sengupta?s Hawa Aane De and Shadows?, there?s Brick Lane now and after that an American film by a US-based Indian.

The money is also good in these films?

Of course the money is very good. That apart, I get to go to film festivals across the world and also travel to many places, meet different people.

What do you play in your forthcoming releases?

My character in Strings is a blend of traditional and modern. I play the daughter of a temple priest who falls in love with an English boy (Adam Bedi) who comes to visit the Kumbh Mela. We are introduced by a common friend played by Sandhya Mridul. The film tracks the spiritual journey of the lovers and also the girl?s father. Strings is very special because it?s a fiction shot on location in Kumbh Mela for 28 days, which is almost 80 per cent of the entire film.

Then there is Kasturi, which is probably releasing in September. This film is made in the commercial genre by a Benaras-based NGO working with women.

I play a woman who hopes to top the UPSC exams and stands up for herself. I love playing characters that are not like me, characters that need me to work to get into them. Sometimes I fail, sometimes I succeed.