Raveena won a National Award for playing a tortured wife in the 2001 film Daman. PHOTO: FILE
“I really wanted to do something challenging and fun. I opted for Shab because Onir is a dear friend and the character that I’m playing in the film is something I haven’t done earlier,” she said. Commenting on her role in the film, she stated, “It’s that of a diva but has shades of grey in it. I walk through a thin line between positive and negative in the film.” She shared that she had initially been approached for the protagonist role, but wilfully opted for this as she hadn’t played such a character before. “I was more excited to play the negative part.”
Raveena, who plays Sonal in the film, said she was always the first choice for Shab, which Onir wrote almost 14 years ago when he was assisting filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi for Daman. Raveena won a National Award for playing a tortured wife in the film. “Onir directed us in Daman because Kalpana fell ill for a long time during the shooting of the film. He discussed the idea during that time with me and wanted to start up the project in a year or two. I got pregnant in 2004 and film went on the back burner,” she said.
The actor has two children with husband Anil Thadani and two adopted kids, and has done only a few films since her marriage. Her last film Shobhana 7 Nights, which was thought to be her comeback to Bollywood post-pregnancy, is yet to have a box-office release. “Shobhana 7 Nights was a festival film. It was a great learning experience for me. I don’t think the film is meant for box-office,” she commented.
Recently, Raveena announced that she was no longer a part of Anurag Kashyap’s film Bombay Velvet. “I am no longer a part of Bombay Velvet. The whole scenario of movie has changed now,” said Raveena who was to play a jazz singer in the film. “I had finished shooting my part too, but there were a lot of changes in the sequence. So, I told Anurag that I will not do this film. I will work with him in his next project.”
Shab, a drama set it Delhi, is the story of a love triangle and stars Bengali superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee’s wife, Arpita, and actor Ashish Bisht, both of whom will make their Bollywood debut in the film. Sanjay Suri and designer Wendell Rodricks will make guest appearances in the film. Onir said the four characters in the film embodied the four seasons and that, through them, he sought to capture the contrasting colours of the city, reported Times of India.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 28th, 2015.
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