Sunday, June 24, 2001		Interview

With the release of Lagaan, Hindi cinema gets a new heroine. Gracy Singh plays Aamir Khan’s love interest in this magnificent costume drama set against the wilderness of Bhuj during British colonial times. And, this transition from the small screen to the big one has come as a major stroke of luck for the fragile beauty from Delhi, says Rakhee Gupta

WITH the release of Lagaan, Hindi cinema gets a new heroine. Gracy Singh plays Aamir Khan’s love interest in this magnificent costume drama set against the wilderness of Bhuj during British colonial times. It is another matter, that the film also marks Aamir’s debut as producer.

For television viewers though, Gracy’s is not a new face. She has appeared as the adorable Dinky in the hugely popular soap, Amaanat. And, this transition from the small screen to the big has come as a major stroke of luck for the fragile beauty from Delhi.

"I never planned or expected to get into movies," she explains. "I was content with the way my part was shaping up in Amaanat, little realising that people had actually started taking notice of me. But then, there is also this belief that if you are successful on television, you can never make it in films."

So when Ashutosh Gowarikar, the director of Lagaan, called one morning on the telephone, Gracy could not believe her luck. "Not only was I getting a break in films, I was being offered a role with my favourite actor," she exclaims. "Doing a screen test with him was achievement enough for me!"

Two screen tests and an interview later, Gracy was in the film. "Later, Ashutosh told me that the very fact my looks complemented Aamir’s on screen was the deciding factor in my selection. Besides, they wanted someone whose softness and reticent nature suited the character of Gauri I was to play."

So Gracy has decided to be herself on screen, till she realised that Gauri spoke Avadhi and being a Punjabi, she could not get the intonations right. Moreover, at times the character could get very jealous, possessive and even talkative.

"I had to infuse these traits and work hard on the dialogues before facing the camera," she narrates. "Luckily for me, I had a very cooperative unit and more than anybody else, both Aamir and Ashutosh were very patient with me. Working with such a team is a dream come true for any actress anywhere."

Gracy’s moment of glory came when she faced the camera for the opening shot. As Gauri, she was to approach an astrologer as a British woman had also shown an interest on Bhuvan, the character Aamir was playing. The shot and was approved on the first take and the whole unit congratulated her.

What impressed her most, though, was Aamir’s meticulousness and his being a stickler for perfection. As one accustomed to getting her lines on the day of the shoot and that too only on the sets (of Amaanat), she was taken aback at the way everybody worked religiously by a bound script!

"Strict discipline was followed," she elaborates. "Whether one was required or not on the set, it was mandatory for everyone, including Aamir to be there. It was Aamir’s way of making sure that we got the feel of the story and watched other characters develop as we moved along."

"This meant waking up every morning at five, getting ready, hopping into a waiting bus and going to the set a few kilometres away. Only Sundays were a bit relaxed with some rehearsals and costume fittings thrown in. That was all the respite we got during the five months of filming in Bhuj."

But nobody complained as Aamir had got the entire unit involved "as a family". Every member was fired by a sense of commitment and even a spot boy could pitch in with an opinion on the colour scheme of clothes or dialogue delivery. After a point, all actors were living their roles off-camera, in real life!

For Gracy, it was one grand picnic that will remain with her. "It was a new work experience never to be forgotten. In that oppressive heat and dust, I had become brown as the earth. But who cares... There was not a single day when there was no granules of sand in the food," she laughs.

(MF)