Vandana Sajnani, Kashmera Shah and Tejaswini Kollhapure in Beauty, Brains & Personality

In her three-play-old career as director and producer, Vandana Sajnani has introduced a famous face with every new stage production. While Please Divorce Me Darling and Love Hua Once More featured Rati Agnihotri, her latest offering Beauty, Brains & Personality is high on the glamour scales with Kashmera Shah and Tejaswini Kollhapure.

Beauty, Brains & Personality was staged amidst wine, cheese and chatter on Friday evening, at The Park.

The combination of beauty and brains has transformed all three of Sajnani?s plays into commercial success stories. All three may seem to be in the same vein, but not to Sajnani: ?Each of my three productions is different from the other and Please Divorce Me Darling was even copied into a film ? Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya.?

But why do all the productions deal with the lighter side of life? ?Because over the years I have realised that people want to go back home with a smile and a happy feeling,? says Sajnani, who had worked with veteran Dinesh Thakur on ?serious plays? for some eight years.

For Beauty, Brains & Personality, Sajnani bought the rights from playwright Emmett Loverde before setting the play in Los Angeles and casting two Indian girls, along with herself.

?It?s a hugely successful American play and I didn?t want to change it at all. It?s also very difficult to play something without a story line. Tejaswini perfectly fit the role of Pia, a deglamourised girl who blossoms into a swan. To play Sara, I needed someone hot and sexy like Kashmera. Both of them have done some experimental theatre before, but this is their first commercial venture,? says Sajnani, who has also worked in TV serials and the Ram Gopal Varma film Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon. ?But instead of bit roles in films, it?s better to concentrate on theatre,? stresses Sajnani.

Sexy Sara

At first glance, it would seem the ?hot and sexy? Sara, played by Kashmera Shah, is just an extension of her screen image. But ?no, not at all?, protests the sultry actress.

?It could be, but only as far as the physical attributes are concerned. If you go into the character, this is the first time I am playing a ?blonde?. In films, I am usually given the mean or corporate woman roles,? says she, after having travelled to Bangalore with the show.

Kashmera has, of course, acted in a few experimental plays with actor-director Makrand Deshpande. ?Makrand?s realism is very hard-hitting. He talks in euphemisms.?

In Beauty, Brains & Personality, improvisation is the name of the game. ?Vandana?s play is about three girls, their problems and how different they are from each other. This is my first comedy and so I am enjoying it very much. And we think we (Vandana, Tejaswini and herself) are brilliant together. There?s no sense of competition. We are not jealous of each other, or worrying that she?s taking away some of the laughter.?

The success of Beauty? has inspired Kashmera to do more on stage and offers are pouring in. But she wants to be ?picky and choosy? and take up only ?those roles that make sense?.

?Theatre gives you instant gratification and the audience?s laughter is a huge reward. To be on stage, you have to be a very good actor. The continuous rehearsals also help you a lot in films. Theatre is my second love, only after films, and I have always wanted to do it,? says Kashmera, whose film career is also on the upswing.

She has two releases ready to hit the theatres ? My Bollywood Bride, where she stars opposite Sex and the City star Jason Lewis, and Pooja Bhatt?s Holiday alongside Dino Morea.

Studious Pia

The studious and intelligent Pia of Beauty? is the younger sister of Padmini Kollhapure. She made her mark on the ramp before switching to the stage. Though acting is in her blood, Tejaswini Kollhapure wasn?t so sure the live act was her forte until she chanced upon a workshop by theatre veteran Satyadev Dubey.

?He had auditioned me for a film and later I got to attend a workshop conducted by him. I had just finished a TV serial then and wanted to get into films. After that disastrous audition, it was more like a challenge for me,? says Tejaswini, who has acted in a string of experimental plays with Dubey.

At the Prithvi Theatre Festival, she featured in Makrand Deshpande?s Hindi play Sabse Bada Thag.

?Beauty? is very different from the rest of the plays I have done as I am constantly on stage here and don?t get a breather at all. It?s very difficult in terms of retaining one?s attention and the retaliation? There?s a lot of give-and-take. It also requires a lot of chemistry and a very good rapport among the three actors. Since I knew Kashmera, it wasn?t a problem and also because we have been rehearsing every single day for a month-and-a-half. With growing comfort level and improvisations, your character gets enhanced,? adds Tejaswini, on the brink of a film career beginning to bloom.

Besides awaiting the release of Paanch and Anjane, Tejaswini is currently shooting for Hriday Shetty?s new feature film daag, where Ashmit Patel is her co-star.

Even in the filmi scheme of things, theatre will be prioritised as it has helped her ?as a person and in my growth as an actress? Once on stage, you discover yourself, all your inhibitions go away and you come out much more confident.?