Life has a funny way of revealing itself to you: Monica Dogra

Singer-turned-actress Monica Dogra is eagerly looking forward to her debut film. Nothing novel about that, but her nervousness probably stems from the fact that she is sharing screen space with none other than B-Town superstar Aamir Khan.

Dogra admits that she was intimidated by Aamir’s presence but soon got over it. “I mean, I had to,” she smiles.

Ask Dogra if she wished for a more glamorous debut, considering that this film sees her in a no make-up look and she replies in the negative. “My music band has carved its own niche in the country and my first film has Aamir Khan in it. I couldn’t ask for anything better,” says Dogra. And talking about taking up a de-glam role, she adds, “I am actually a non-glamorous person. But somehow people have always perceived me to be otherwise,” she muses adding, “I think I represent anti-glamour. If you think about it, no one has actually seen me in a sexy avatar as such. But people still find me sexy. So it just shows that people are ready for a different kind of beauty.”

Dogra also justifies her choice of debut film saying, “If I were to do a masala film, which I never would, I would be in the dime a dozen category. This film represents new age movies in India and I feel proud to be part of this movement.”

Buzz also has it that film-maker Kiran Rao saw Dogra’s pictures in a magazine before calling her for an audition. Dogra confirms the story and adds that if she had known that Kiran was already aware of her work, she’d have been less nervous.

“Anyway, when I read the script, I realised that the character was a lot like me. I drew instances from my real life experiences to portray her,” she says. But Dogra reveals her philosophical side as she reveals that the entire team initially kept telling her that this was a small film, “But slowly it became bigger and bigger and the next thing I know, two years later, I’m at an international film festival rubbing shoulders with film-maker Danny Boyle. Life has a funny way of revealing itself to you when you are ready,” she ends.