‘I enjoy doing comic roles’

Hrishitaa Bhat talks to V. Ananth about her latest release Don Muthuswami

AFTER a prolonged period of hibernation, Hrishitaa Bhat is back with Shakti Samanta’s latest film Don Muthuswami directed by Asheem Samanta. In Don Muthuswamy, Hrishitaa has been cast as the daughter of the veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty.

According to Hrishitaa, she plays the pampered daughter of the Don. "It was quite tough for me to get into the skin of my character Sanjana in Don Muthuswamy, because a lot of drama and energy had to be invested in my role. I had to be on my feet all the time. I am up in arms against my dad because I do not want to marry any of the tutors that he brings home with the hope that I will fall in love with any of them."

Hrishitaa asserts that it is not for the first time that she is acting in a comedy. "I had earlier acted in Ananth Mahadevan’s Dil Vil Pyar Vyar, in which I had a comic role. I also enjoyed doing comedy in Vashu Bhagnani’s comic caper Out of Control with Riteish Deshmukh. Comedy, I feel, is very unpredictable. It works only if and when it touches you."

Like Sanjana, she, too, is a bully at home, at times. Adds Hrishitaa, "There are quite a few hilarious situations in
the film because while my father is
a South Indian, my mother in the film
is a Punjabi, an extended version of
the Kamalahasan-Rati starrer Ek Duuje Ke Liye."

According to Hrishitaa, "I enjoyed watching comedy films like Padosan, Hera Pheri, Golmaal, Chupke Chupke and last but not the least Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro. I used to freak out on all Kishore Kumar films. My favourite among all of them is Padosan."

According to Hrishitaa, it has been almost six years since she had made her debut in films with the Abhsihek Bachchan-starrer Shararat, she has not got her due. "Every actor has his own destiny. I believe in luck and talent. I do not rue the fact that it has taken me a long time in Bollywood because I believe that you learn from your mistakes. I try not to repeat the mistakes that I had done earlier."

When she looks back, Hrishitaa admits that though her growth has been slow, she is happy with the fact that she has a lot to look forward to. She adds, "Though earlier I was typed as the girl-next-door, after I did Jigyaasa, I have been typed as a glamour girl".

Besides Don Muthuswamy, she has up in her sleeves a few good films like Idiot Box directed by Sunanda, in which she plays a simple Bengali girl and has been teamed opposite Sushant Singh. Hrishitaa is also excited about her forthcoming films Chehre directed by Rohit Kaushik and Jugaad based on real life incident of the demolitions conducted by the Delhi Government on illegal showrooms and offices. Though Idiot Box has the backdrop of TV, Hrishitaa adds that she does not connect with the medium of television. "I do not believe in TV and do not watch the saas-bahu serials at all though I would love to do a good show as an anchor".

According to Hrishitaa, she does not regret having done any film, even if in the process, her career had nosedived and taken a couple of steps back.`A0 "Every film has been a learning experience. I accepted Jigyaasa, only because at the script level it sounded great when the director narrated the subject to me. However, I was disappointed when the treatment did not turn out to be as good. However, I completed the film, because I am a thorough professional, even though quite a few people told me that it was a suicidal move to do a sleazy film like that by wearing revealing clothes." — MF