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Fourth time lucky

More than a pretty face Manjari Phadnis

While Imran Khan, Genelia D’Souza, producer Aamir Khan and director Abbas Tyrewala hogged the limelight in the run up to the release of “Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na” (JTYJN), actor Manjari Phadnis was deliberately kept away. In the film po sters and promos, Manjari was nowhere. Being the surprise element of the film, the director wanted to keep her role of “Meghana” under the wraps. And now that the film is released, we all know that Manjari essayed a small but powerful role. “I have never come across a character like this in our films. I didn’t get to experience the post-release excitement because I had gone to Bangkok for a shoot. When I returned, people at the airport recognised me as Meghana and smiled. I then realised that the film is a success and my work has got noticed,” says an elated Manjari.

She was first seen as a school going teenager in “Rok Sako To Rok Lo” featuring Sunny Deol and Namrata Shirodkar (in 2004) but the film didn’t do much for her. “I didn’t do any work in the following two years except Arindam Chaudhuri’s ‘Faaltu’ which went on to fetch a National award. I prepared myself for the times ahead. I believe reading helps an actor, so I read up a lot. I watched lot of films and learnt dance at Shiamak Davar’s school.” Then came “Mumbai Salsa” in which she played the role of a HR department head. The film failed at the box office.

Manjari has finally tasted success with “JTYJN”. How was it working with Aamir Khan (the film’s producer) and his nephew Imran Khan? “We were sent off to Panchagani to attend a workshop. We were strictly told not to carry our cell phones. We had to call each other by the name of our character. But it was all great fun. Imran is Aamir Khan in the making. He observes every little detail,” says Manjari.

She will next be seen in Saurabh Shukla’s “I am 24”, a romantic comedy. She will share screen space with Ranvir Sheorey and Neha Dhupia. “It’s a fun story. I don’t have any problems with multi-starrers as long as I have a meaty role. I want to do good cinema. Romantic comedy is my forte, so I want to do more films in that genre,” says the bubbly actor.

It’s the lure of good roles that has brought the actor down south too. She recently wrapped up a Telugu film “Sidhu from Sikakulam” opposite Allari Naresh. Then there is a Tamil film “Muthirai”. Produced by Vikram Bhatt it also stars Nithin Sathya and Lakshmi Rai. “I have been getting regional film offers for a long time but when I got these two roles I jumped with excitement. They are powerful roles.” Manjari was one of the four finalists in Channel V Pop Stars. “I love to sing but for now I want to concentrate on my acting assignments. Some day I would want to playback for myself,” smiles Manjari.

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