Soha Ali Khan at a city hotel on Friday. Picture by Aranya Sen

Soha Ali Khan at a city hotel on Friday. Picture by Aranya SenJackie Shroff on the sets of Antarmahal; (left) Rupa Ganguly at the premiere on Friday. Pictures by Aranya Sen

I haven?t seen Antarmahal myself and I am a little nervous,? whispers the ever confident Soha Ali Khan, sipping tea at a city hotel on Friday afternoon. Hours later, when she walks in for the premiere of her second Bengali feature film, flanked by producer Jaya Bachchan, director Rituparno Ghosh and co-actor Rupa Ganguly, the dimples are back on her glowing face.

The second wife of a wayward zamindar in 19th century Bengal is scarcely someone she can ?relate? to, but that hasn?t slowed Soha down. ?Rituparno said he would let me do a lot of what I wanted to do. And though he enacted expressions and emotions for me, he later said that a lot of it was done by me. Films and roles like these don?t come along often,? says the younger daughter of Sharmila Tagore.

?Rituparno is a very hands-on director. He has an aesthetic eye, an eye for detail, set design, costume. My mother trusts directors like him and so she doesn?t interfere. But yes, she helps me with the make-up and look,? admits Soha, who launched her film career with Anjan Das?s Bengali feature Iti Srikanta last year.

Now, she is poised to work with yet another Bengali director ? Aparna Sen in her Hindi film Goynar Baksho. ?I am very excited to work with directors of such calibre at this stage of my career. I haven?t done too many films yet? You look at the director when you choose a film because most directors have the ability to transform actors into characters,? she explains.

?I have a double role in Goynar Baksho and they are two different characters separated by a long period. I am interested to know how Aparna Sen will adapt the Bengali story (by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay) into Hindi. I am also very excited because I will work with my mother for the first time and a female director too, which is always wonderful for a female actor.?

In Bollywood, where she is still fighting to make a mark, Soha is busy with Rakeysh Mehra?s Rang De Basanti and an untitled film opposite Abhay Deol by Shivam. ?At this point, I am looking at a really versatile career with lots of different kinds of films, challenging myself with roles that I would never imagine doing; more English films and also more Bengali films... And I am more confident now, more sure of what I want to do,? she smiles.

Bhuvaneswar Jackie Datta

That brooding face, those intense eyes and a calm visage concealing the commotion within are all too familiar ? from Kaash to Parinda to Gardish. But Bhuvaneswar Datta has deepened the tumult inside Jackie Shroff so much that the role in Rituparno Ghosh?s Antarmahal has fetched him a best actor nomination at the Locarno film festival.

?It feels great! It?s the first time I am playing a Bengali character in a Bengali film and it?s a full-fledged Bengali-speaking role of a zamindar,? Jackie tells Metro over phone.

?It?s a very difficult role. This man has a dormant volcano inside him. He looks calm in front but a lot of turmoil is going on within. He needs somebody to carry on his kingdom but doesn?t have an heir. So, since the first wife can?t give him a child, he brings in the second wife. And then he also has to give the British rulers the impression that he is not a small zamindar. So, he has certain things going on in his mind. And then Abhishek (Bachchan) the sculptor comes to work on an idol? and my life changes.?

Jackie Shroff on the sets of Antarmahal; (above) Rupa Ganguly at the premiere on Friday. Pictures by Aranya Sen

The determining factor in trying out a Bengali film was the director and the script. ?When I am choosing films, I always look at my director. Then comes the script. In Antarmahal, I knew that mine was the central role, with two wives. I liked the role? of this zamindar in the 19th century,? says Jackie, admitting that he hasn?t seen any of Rituparno?s films.

?But I had heard a lot about him, Bariwali and Chokher Bali, and how Hindi actors and actresses were dying to work with him? I haven?t seen films for a long time. I like the films of Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor. I am more of an Internet guy,? he defends his distance from big-screen viewing.

To play Bhuvaneswar Datta, Jackie relied on his own instincts and guidance from the director. ?There are a few things that need to be improvised. In Devdas, for instance, I had been briefed about this scene where Shah Rukh falls with a goblet in hand. But I hold it in my palm and let it drift in air. This was a little improvisation I did? In Antarmahal, Rituparno made everything so easy even before I could realise. This gentleman will be rocking the world very soon,? says the man busy with a variety of films, from Vidhu Vinod Chopra?s Eklavya to Divorce, Mere Dil Le Kar Dekho and Bhoot Uncle.

And how were his two screen wives Rupa Ganguly and Soha Ali Khan? ?Wow! One is a newcomer, the other is a seasoned actress. Rupa gave me a few pointers, like where to pause and things like that. And Soha was so mature... There was a love-making scene where I was feeling uncomfortable but Soha made me feel at ease. I realised that today?s newcomers are so much more confident and responsible towards their work,? says Jackie, who found the Tollywood experience ?very easy and so relaxed? like cooking food on slow fire.?