Shahana Goswami has come a long way from her days as the angsty Debbie in Abhishek Kapoor’s Rock On!!. While her passion for acting has increased manifold, her appearance has undergone a makeover of sorts. Those extra kilos have been shed, the wavy locks straightened and the face glowing more than ever. But the actor says it’s all part of the plan.
There’s a whole lot of projects at hand and Goswami wants to enjoy every last bit of it. She plays the role of a non-conforming journalist in director Abhinay Deo’s Game, a happy-go-lucky Parsi girl in Danish Aslam’s Break Ke Baad and a video game designer in Shahrukh Khan’s home production Ra.One. The shooting schedules of these films have made her a globetrotter. “I was in Istanbul for the shoot of Game and then went to Mauritius for Break Ke Baad,” says the actor, who is hoping to have a small vacation with her family in the Capital before zooming off to London, where she shoots for the Anubhav Sinha-directed Ra.One
After her return, she will start work on Abhay Deol’s home production Basra. “It is a busy year, but I am happier this way. I also have two releases the year— Mirch and Break Ke Baad,” she says. It’s a welcome change from the previous year, when after a nuanced performance in Rock On!! the actor disappeared from the scene for a while. “I was typecast as the feisty woman. People came to me with roles of older characters. Although I don’t blame them for doing that, I really wanted to explore newer arenas,” she says. Of the few films she signed, many did not take off at the scheduled time. “For a year, I did not shoot. I spent a year in anticipation,” shrugs the 24-year-old.
For someone like Goswami, who is an outsider in Bollywood, the struggle is still far from over. “I am still struggling to find that elusive solo heroine project,” she smiles, adding, “While big banner films do matter a lot, small budget films gain a lot of recognition.” For now, Goswami says, she would like to find a balance between offbeat and mainstream cinema. “I want to do both kinds. Doing fluff at all times doesn’t give you that much satisfaction, after all,” she says.
There’s a whole lot of projects at hand and Goswami wants to enjoy every last bit of it. She plays the role of a non-conforming journalist in director Abhinay Deo’s Game, a happy-go-lucky Parsi girl in Danish Aslam’s Break Ke Baad and a video game designer in Shahrukh Khan’s home production Ra.One. The shooting schedules of these films have made her a globetrotter. “I was in Istanbul for the shoot of Game and then went to Mauritius for Break Ke Baad,” says the actor, who is hoping to have a small vacation with her family in the Capital before zooming off to London, where she shoots for the Anubhav Sinha-directed Ra.One
After her return, she will start work on Abhay Deol’s home production Basra. “It is a busy year, but I am happier this way. I also have two releases the year— Mirch and Break Ke Baad,” she says. It’s a welcome change from the previous year, when after a nuanced performance in Rock On!! the actor disappeared from the scene for a while. “I was typecast as the feisty woman. People came to me with roles of older characters. Although I don’t blame them for doing that, I really wanted to explore newer arenas,” she says. Of the few films she signed, many did not take off at the scheduled time. “For a year, I did not shoot. I spent a year in anticipation,” shrugs the 24-year-old.
For someone like Goswami, who is an outsider in Bollywood, the struggle is still far from over. “I am still struggling to find that elusive solo heroine project,” she smiles, adding, “While big banner films do matter a lot, small budget films gain a lot of recognition.” For now, Goswami says, she would like to find a balance between offbeat and mainstream cinema. “I want to do both kinds. Doing fluff at all times doesn’t give you that much satisfaction, after all,” she says.
