"I am still waiting for my Mr. Right" Sonali Kulkarni

After having done regional, parallel and commercial cinema, actress Sonali Kulkarni is feeling much more confident at the moment. Sonali feels that her talent has been appreciated in a way she wanted it to be by the viewers and so she has decided to do more of commercial cinema. Sonali shares her experiences working on her upcoming film Sirf directed by Rajkumar Santoshi's previous assistant Rajtesh Nayar in which she plays the character of a confident business woman.

Q. With this new look, you seem to be a totally different person now…
A. I have always been a very confident girl, but now I want my looks to display the real me too. Looks really define what you really are. I have also decided to work more on commercial cinema for which you are required to look more glamorous. Till now I had mostly done regional or parallel cinema where the viewers are very less. I want to get recognized amongst the people, but that doesn't mean I would be quitting parallel and regional cinema altogether.

Q. Do you think this hot look would work out in a positive manner for you at this stage of your life?
A. I don't think I am looking hot just by having a hair cut. Neither was I a stereo type kind of a girl who needed to change her image totally. But thanks anyways. Such a beautiful compliment that too given by a girl makes me feel proud. I am only competing with myself and not with others. I respect every actor associated with this industry.

Q. What character would you be seen portraying in Sirf?
A. I am playing the character of a business woman named Namita. Namita is so talented that along with her husband (Ranveer Shourey) everyone else in the film feels jealous of her. She is the one who successfully manages her home as well as official duties. This is one thing which every women dreams to achieve. Even the husbands want to see their wives perfect in both the roles. But instead of all this Namita is looking out for true love as her husband looks jealous of her success and sees her as his competitor. This is why their relationship is going through a bad phase.

Q. How close is Namita's character to your real self?
A. It isn't near to my real self but it matches with many of my close fiends. They always feel that their husband or one's wife is keeping such kind of feeling against them. As a third person, I always make sure to advice them that for a better married life, it's important to keep your egos aside and stop taking each other as competitors. One should always remain a person you are and not try to change your personality after marriage. This is why it was easier for me to get into the skin of Namita's character.

Q. Ranveer Shourey is better know for his humorous roles, whereas we have heard that in this film he would be seen portraying a serious character. What would you like to comment on this?
A. I don't understand why people start recognizing people with the kind of work they do. Instead doing a good comedy is a sign of a real actor. I don't say that making people cry is easier, but even to make them laugh is a real tough job. As much as his character in the film is concerned, I think he has given full justice to it. He looked to be kind of crazy on the sets and also he was always late for the shoots (laughs).
Sonali
Q. Ranveer is known to be a very good prankster. Did he play any kind of prank on you?
A. One day Ranveer, my brother, my niece and other actors were present on the sets when I thought to bring laughter on my niece's face. I came out with a plan and asked everyone to bark. It seemed as though Ranveer was just waiting to hear this and he then continued barking endlessly, until I got really irritated and in the end had to scold him to stop barking.

Q. How was it working under the debutant director Rajtesh Nayar?
A. It's in my attitude to give respect to the person no matter whether he is a big director or a debutant. As far as Rajtesh goes, he is a very talented director I feel he has got a great future ahead of him. He never looks to be in a hurry and thinks twice before executing a shot. The kind of star cast our film had, the director really needed to be a patient man and Rajtesh proved to be the same. At the start of the film, I had a fight with Rajtesh as I wanted to play the character portrayed by Ritupurna Sengupta. But I felt good as Rajtesh personally came and explained me that he has specially written the character of Namita putting her in mind and requested me to do it. That's another thing I still was stubborn to play Ritupurna's character.

Q. What's so interesting about Ritupurna's character when you are playing the strongest character in the film?
A. Yeah, it's true that my character in the film is very strong, but sometime madness does strike you. The fact is I was very impressed with Ritupurna's character as it had a comic touch in it and I am dying to do comedy nowadays. I am happy that till date whatever characters I have got have been very strong which makes the other heroines feel jealous.

Q. Isn't there any other reason other than the character issue that you thought twice before signing the film as there are eight other actors in the film?
A. No, I never felt any kind of hesitation thinking that it's a multi-starrer film as nowadays people do accept these kinds of films. Today people don't think who is playing the main character in a film. Metro's success is the best example as every character in this multi-starrer film was important. I think this successful trend of multi-starrer films is good for every actor as they get the chance to work together.

Q. Do you think that in today's times you can successfully handle the burden of playing a solo heroine in a film?
A. Why not? Given a chance I would love to accept this offer and make sure that I do full justice to the film.

Q. Nowadays even actresses have started getting into comedy. What's your take on the same?
A. I wanted to do comedy that's the reason I was been fighting for Ritupurna's character. I have done many comedy plays and those who are close to me exactly know my humorous side. I just love to mimic others. Normally I prefer to be silent but when I meet someone and observe him I enjoy mimicking him. My friends specially call me up to know whether I have some interesting story where I mimicked a person. Even on the sets on Jhalak Dhikla Jaa, I made everyone laugh by mimicking them.

Q. You looked a little tensed in Jhalak Dhikla Jaa. If been approached by other channels, would you like to participate again in any television show?
A. I didn't decide to do Jhalak thinking that it was just another television show. The main reason behind it was the concept of dance attached to the show. I have learnt classical, but I didn't have any kind of knowledge regarding Latin American dance which is uttermost important in today's times. For me disco dance was the one done my Jeetendra or Govinda, but this show has really thought me a lot. As far as other television shows are concerned, I would only consider doing it if I feel that the concept is very interesting and I would be learning new things participating in it. I believe in learning every day. It's only because of Jhalak Dikhla Jaa that now I can do any kind of dance, or else in the past I had to catch fever whenever I was asked to dance.

Q. It's really surprising that after being in Bollywood for so many years, you still are single. Have you found your Mr. Right or still looking for him?
A. I deeply love my profession and writing. As far as Mr. Right is concerned, I would find him when he arrives in my life. I can't just sit quietly until I meet him. You can say, I am still waiting for my Mr. Right.

Q. What are the other projects you are working on?
A. This year around 7-8 of my films are due to release of which most are commercial ones. After Sirf, my other releases lined up are Love Kichdi, Mohandas, Karan, Via Darjeeling and BBD. Two of my Marathi films, Sakhi and Vasudev Balwant Fadke would also be releasing soon. Talks are going on regarding few other films too, but I think it will be too early if I speak about them.

Q. Have you signed any international project also?
A. Not yet. But yes, talks are certainly on. There's an Italian director who wants to meet me regarding a film. But again, I can't disclose anything further before meeting him.

Rajnee Gupta -(Sampurn)