Kiss liye?

Shahana Goswani, who essays the role of Arjun Rampal's disgruntled and embittered tyrant of a wife in Rock On, is unhappy. A press release from the producers of her next film, Ru-ba-ru, has the actress seething. According to the press note "Ru-ba-ru features 10 kisses between Randeep Hooda and Shahana 'ROCK ON' Goswami". Shahana fumes, "I can't understand why they are highlighting 10 kisses between me and Randeep Hooda in Ru-ba-ru. And, who is counting? Certainly not the audiences! Surely they've matured enough to not get carried away by kisses. Also, there aren't that many kisses at all. I'd rather be known for more than just kissing in my films."

Apparently, as the unhappy wife in Rock On, the 22-year-old actress' performance sets the screen ablaze. As Shabana Azmi said appreciatively, "Where did that come from?" "Did she?" laughs Shahana. "I guess I've never shied away from real emotions, never had to be over-sheltered or mollycoddled by my parents during my growing years in Delhi. I feel, at times the person you love has to be told what she/he should do, even if it makes him or her unhappy and resentful. Like my mom forced me to go through college. I hated it at then. But today I'm thankful to her. Similarly, in Rock On I had the thankless job of being a nagging, pesky and embittered wife. I loved it."

The 22-year-old theatre actress is out for new challenges. "I worked with this wonderful theatre group called Working Titles. Strangely most of my films are either episodic or I'm part of an ensemble cast. The only exception is my next release, Ru-ba-ru, where Randeep and I play lovers who've crossed the stage of euphoria into stagnancy. So again it's an unconventional role. I'd say it's a love story that begins where other filmy love stories end."

Another unconventional role? "In Sudhir Mishra's Tera Kya Hoga Johnny I'm Neil Nitin Mukesh's girl married to a much older man Kay Kay Menon. If that is too much of an unconventional role for me, I don't mind. I've always wanted to be an actress. If today I'm getting to play anyone from the age of 18 to 32 and if I can do it convincingly, why not? As a child I'd take my mother's dupatta on my head and speak to myself in the mirror. The habit remains. I still speak to myself, though now I don't get much time to do that."

Coming up soon is Shahana's next, Nandita Das's Firaaq where she features in one episode with Marathi actress Amrita Subhash. "Nandita saw me in Naseeruddin Shah's Yun Hota To Kya Hota and cast me. So although I'm not much remembered by my first film, I still owe a lot to it."

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