Her positive energy travels right through the telephone as actress Aditi Rao Hydari comes to life with a sprightly ‘hi’. Buzzing with news from her first film as the leading lady of a Hindi film, Aditi says her entire journey with London, Paris, New York was fascinating and interesting.
“I play the part of Lalitha, who comes from a simple and middle class background; you know, the sort who goes to dance classes, does really well in school and college etc… that’s me in the film,” begins Aditi.
And through the film, her character, along with Ali Zafar, travels through the three most celebrated cities across the globe, as they discover the changing dynamics of their relationship. “What’s quite fascinating about the film is that the characters mirror the nature of the city they are in,” says Aditi, adding, “You hear about magical romances, don’t you? This one is a little like that, but there is a proper plot in the story, so it won’t appear flaky.”
Incidentally, Aditi also lends her voice in the film, something that happened quite suddenly. “Yes I can sing, but I have not been trained in it or anything. I was sitting and humming on the sets when Ali and the director heard me and told me to sing in the film as well. And I, like a good girl, agreed! You can safely say that singing, for me, was straight from the bathroom to the screen!” laughs Aditi.
Her first love however will remain dance, says the actor, who also made her debut in the 2007 Tamil film, Sringaram, directed by Saradha Ramanathan.
“I had agreed to do the film because it was all about dance; I cannot be separated from it,” says the actor, adding, “I always wanted to act, but I was dancing very seriously at that time. I believe when you’re doing something, you have to give it your 100%.”
Aditi however also admits that now that she’s acting, she has given it all the dedication it requires. “I will never, not be a dancer; but acting is my profession now; it’s my riyaaz.
Ask her if she’d like to do a few more films with the south Indian film industries and she says, “I don’t know the south Indian film industry very well, so, I wouldn’t mind. But I have to be careful. Of course if Mani Ratnam asks me, I’ll jump and go for it!” signs off the actor.