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Anurag Kashyap wouldn’t just sign anybody: Anurita Jha

DNA gets chatting with the actress about her role, how she bagged it and where she is headed.

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It maybe difficult to recall Anurita’s face from Gangs of Wasseypur I, but she plays a pivotal role in the sequel. The actor, playing Shama Parveen, wife of Danish Khan, Manoj Bajpai’s elder son, has made her way into the reviews, where critics have acknowledged her acting as ‘powerful’, ‘impressive’ and ‘effective’.

“I’m so glad. Going by my role in the film, I wasn’t expecting much but just positive response. Now, when I read that the critics have actually noticed my work, I feel like I’m on cloud nine. I have very few lines in the films and I had to do a lot of talking through my expressions and with just that if I’ve been noticed, it’s a great compliment,” expresses Anurita, who gives all the credit to Anurag Kashyap, her director.

“I used to tell Anurag that I want to speak and want more dialogues, but Anurag always replied saying, ‘an actor has to speak with expressions. Looking pretty and dancing can be learnt, but delivering your dialogues with less talking and just expressions is very difficult’,” recalls Anurita, who thinks doing GOW was just the right decision and start.

“Anurag is known to bring out the actor in you and he wouldn’t take anybody, if he thought they couldn’t act. He may have seen some potential and so may have signed me. I tried giving my best to whatever he asked me to do and today everyone has appreciated it,” says Anurita, going back to the day of her audition.

“I was doing theatre workshops, commercials and had done a small telefilm with Ranvir Shorey; it was a thriller. My casting agency called me and informed about GOW auditions and I went instantly. I auditioned for the suhaag raat scene from GOW1. Once I was done I was asked to wait outside Anurag’s office. After some five minutes the casting director came out along with Anurag and I thought they will tell that they will get back to me. But Anurag was like, ‘you are doing the role’. And I said, ‘what?’ I started screaming and jumping and he said, ‘shut up, you are scaring me.’ I went home smiling all the way, while people must have thought that I’m some crazy chick,” laugh out Anurita.

But did she ever feel like Huma Qureshi was given more visibility? “There is no comparison. We have different roles — just like all other women in the film. But only Shama’s role was like the one who’s docile and doesn’t speak her mind. Yes, Huma definitely has a glamourous role, but that’s the call of the script. One thing is for sure, no character will go unnoticed. GOW1 was about Manoj and women in his life, but GOW2 has more characters and it’s faster. Both the movies are very different, yet connected. We knew that the film will be a cult, but it has become bigger than that,” says Anurita, adding, “I’m happy that I did this film. Who doesn’t wants to be a part of Anurag’s film; people would die for it. I would have done it even if the role was smaller than Shama’s. In GOW1, I was just introduced and GOW2 has got more of me — though small, it’s pivotal because I’m the sister of Sultan, who is from the rival family. Sultan in GOW1 tells Shama that ‘if you say yes to the nikaah, I’ll kill everybody’ and that’s what he does here. So automatically, at some point the film revolves around me.”

Ask her to compare Shama with Anurita and she says, “Absolutely different; poles apart. I’m not that docile or quiet. I’m very straight forward, bindaas and a woman who speaks her mind. If my husband asks me to shut up, I would be like, really?” says Anurita as she chuckles.

She has been a model, has done theatre workshops and finally debuted in Bollywood. So what’s keeping her busy these days? “My life’s a bit crazy. People do theatre and then get into films. But I’m doing full-time theatre now after doing a commercial film. I’m busy rehearsing for a play right now. Theatre is time consuming, but interesting. I personally love theatre artistes,” says Anurita, who is also reading other scripts. “I’m getting calls, offers and I have been reading scripts as well. But after doing Anurag’s film, you have to be a good actor and perform better; you have to meet the standards that you have set. So, I will take as it comes,” signs off Anurita.

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