NEW DELHI, Jan 12:
Actress Mita Vasisht, who is returning to the big screen after about a year with slice-of-life film ‘Gangoobai’, says she looks for quality cinema rather than doing bit roles in big budget projects.
Mita, 45, who was last seen playing Freida Pinto’s mother in British-Indian film ‘Trishna’, is happy with her role in ‘Gangoobai’. Produced by National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), the film released yesterday.
“I believe in quality rather than quantity. At this age, I look for good scripts rather than the starcast. Now, you have films apart from the mainstream but five years ago the scene was completely different. In 2009, I did a film called ‘Aladin’ and I regret doing it. I shared the screen with Mr Bachchan but that didn’t give me satisfaction of being an actor,” Mita told.
In debutant Priya Krishnaswam’s film, Mita essays the character of a former supermodel, who now runs a fashion house in the city.
“It’s a very different character and I play one of the leads apart from the titular character in the film. It’s a very gentle character but it helps the story to proceed further,” she said.
The film revolves around a maid and is a sentimental portrayal of her desire to own a Gara saree. The lead has been played by Sarita Joshi of ‘Ba Bahoo Aur Baby’ fame.
Mita is also working on her docu-feature ‘She of the Four Names’, which is about her fascination with Lal Ded, the Kashmiri mystic poet. Mita has also done a 75-minute solo theatre performance titled ‘Lal Ded’ based on her life and poetry.
“I am now looking forward to the release of my documentary-feature ‘She of the Four Names’, based on Lal Ded and commissioned by Public Services Broadcasting Trust (PSBT), India.
“The film is an extension of my play on her. There is so much more to be said, known and understood about Ded. There’s a big difference between doing a play and a film on the same subject,” said the actress, who is also writing a new film.
A National School of Drama (NSD) graduate, Mita has worked in theatre, films and television. She is known for her powerful roles in Mani Kaul directed biopic ‘Sidheshwari’, Govind Nihalani’s ‘Drishti’ and ‘Drohkaal’ and Kumar Shahani’s ‘Kasba’.
The actress is also famous for her character roles in Mani Ratnam’s ‘Dil Se’ where she played a terrorist and in Subhash Ghai’s ‘Taal’.
Talking about the changes in cinema today, Mita says, “Young talents are brilliant. I feel good when they say I have grown up watching your films or television serials. Now, mainstream cinema is coming up with interesting scripts. Earlier, only art house films used to produce such stories,” says Mita. (PTI)
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