Smriti Mishra in Kal ? Yesterday and Tomorrow, and (below) with Chitrangda Singh in the film

Where did you disappear all this while?

I didn?t exactly disappear. I know people thought I have, since I wasn?t doing Bollywood films. But I was doing very hard work elsewhere. It?s just that I don?t talk about my work and so people think that I have quit films or I am sitting idle. But I prefer travelling, meeting different kinds of people and doing other interesting projects rather than doing 15 Bollywood films on the trot. So, after Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin and Sardari Begum, I did move around a lot and did other international films.

Whenever an Indian actor does a foreign film, it?s written or talked about everywhere. How come your international projects never came into the limelight?

People here are only interested in a Shah Rukh Khan or a Saif Ali Khan film. They are not aware of other developments in the world of cinema. Like they do not know what an IMAX film is. So how will they understand that I am the first Indian actress to act in an IMAX film? I play this female lead in an IMAX film named Kingdom of the Tiger directed by Bruce Neibaur, starring Christopher Heyerdahi opposite me. It is about the life of Jim Corbett and how an Indian girl raises his spirits to actually make him kill a man-eating tiger. I also did another film named Mitsein, which is directed by a Tamil lady named Aparna Malladi, who?s a scientist staying in San Francisco for the last 15 years.

What is the difference in acting in a regular film vis-?-vis acting in an IMAX film?

There is a big difference. Before Kingdom of the Tiger, I had no idea of an IMAX film. But while shooting for the film, I realised how slow the process is compared to a regular film. The IMAX camera is huge and it needs a big, strong-built man to be a grip boy. So as an actor, you need a lot more patience to be part of an IMAX film. Also, it was a great experience since I was the only Indian on the sets while the rest were all Americans.

So, what made you sign a Bollywood film like Kal ? Yesterday and Tomorrow?

The director Ruchi is a friend. While Is Raat? was my first film as an actor, it was Ruchi?s first film too, as an assistant director to Sudhir Mishra. In a way our journeys started together. So while I was doing all kinds of work, Ruchi was in touch with me about her first film. After doing One Dollar Curry, I had time and signed Kal. Also, the role was very challenging?

But you are dead in the first reel?

Yeah! That?s the beauty of it all. See, in cricket you have 11 players in a team. Now one of them bats for 50 overs and scores 15 while another may bat for 10 overs and score 80. The same with movies. What?s significant is what have you actually created in the movie, whether you die or you come in flashbacks.

Kal is a very interesting idea in the way it treats relationships and friends. It shows how there are so many reasons behind friendships ? everybody wants something from somebody. We are all human beings but we are not all that black and white.

What was it like working with newer people like Chitrangda Singh and Shiney Ahuja?

They are two films old while I have done around eight to nine projects. So there wasn?t much difference as such. I found them very professional. With time and more films, I am sure they will turn more responsible about their work.

What?s next ? another hibernation?

(Laughs) I never plan. I am very unpredictable as an actress. But now that I am more settled in Mumbai, I should do more work here, provided I get work.