Game for experimenting

I know that I have to get out of my comfort zone to prove myself as an actor. I believe that an actor is as good as his last film - Piaa Bajpai

Actress Piaa Bajpai, who managed to grab eyeballs with her performance in KV Anand’s ‘Rangam’, is surprised why she hasn’t got as many offers as she expected in Telugu. “I don’t know. Maybe because I’ve played the hero’s friend in ‘Rangam’, which has made producers and directors not to cast me,” the model-turned-actress says, in a chat-a-thon with Hans Talkies.

Buoyed with the response she has received for her role in ‘Dalam’ where she plays the female lead alongside Naveen Chandra, she says that she has got a good feedback. “Besides comedy and the love track, people have appreciated the chemistry that Naveen and I share,” she says and continues, “Initially, one of the crew members called and briefed me about the role when I was in Mumbai. I wasn’t convinced then. But when writer Sunil called me again after 15 days and spoke about my role, I was more than happy to be a part of project.”

Speaking about her character, the UP-born lass reveals, “I play Shruti, a typical Tamil Brahmin girl next-door. I’m seen mostly in half-saris, salwars and kurtas. I was jumping around here and there in my previous films whereas I’m pretty demure in ‘Dalam’.

She says that shooting for a particular song at Araku was demanding. “The song was shot at 3,000 feet above the ground level and the weather was not conducive for shooting. We had to climb one hill after the other, as there was no mode for vehicular movement. Some shots were shot very near to the cloud,” she recalls.

The three-film-old actress also says that her co-star Naveen “will go to places.” “He works as hard as he can and is very intense. We started shooting for the film before ‘Andala Rakshasi’ released. ‘Rangam’ released prior to his film and he was slightly apprehensive of working with me since I already had a hit in my bag. However, after his film released, he turned into an overnight star,” she smiles.

While she hasn’t set benchmarks for herself in the industry, she is open for all kind of characters. “Be it glam, de-glam or heroine-oriented, bring it on I say. I just can’t stand in the screen as I need to do something or the other. I know that I have to get out of my comfort zone to prove myself as an actor. I believe that an actor is as good as his last film,” she says.

While she is heeding to more scripts currently, she has shot for a Hindi film, ‘X-The Film’. “It is being helmed by 10 different directors. The role that I’ve essayed was pretty new to me,” she signs off.