Having shot to fame with Masaan, actress Shweta Tripathi is all set to play a bride-to-be in Zoya Akhtar's web-series, Made in Heaven . Asserting that she is comfortable in independent films, Shweta is also ready with her next project Zoo which has been entirely shot on i-phone and will be screened at the upcoming Busan International Film Festival.
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What is your role in Zoo ?
The name Zoo suggests that the characters are trapped in their own cages. I am playing an urban girl Nisha Mehta who has done something in the past due to which she is unable to forgive herself.
She is punishing herself by remaining inside the house as she does not want to meet anyone with drug abuse. It is different from Shalu of Masaan or Sandhya of Haramkhor right from her looks to behaviour. I stopped meeting friends, stopped eating food so that I enjoy working on this film. And just after the shoot I left for a long trip to help myself come out of that zone. As actors, it is very important to disconnect and not get affected by the character. When you play the character, your subconscious mind keeps thinking about it.
How difficult was it to come out of the image of Disney’s Zenia Khan ?
Television takes years of long commitment for which actor has to live character, even if you do not like. You play it for so long that it becomes part of their lives. Whenever I used to audition for roles, it was more of Zenia Khan in me than Shweta and I had to step out of that image. I said to myself that the pack up is done and I am no more Zenia now and I have to do something else now. The kind of films I have done, it was a very short commitment of not more than three weeks and it was easier for me to bring in a variety of shades in my personality.
Were you not apprehensive before entering an experimental and independent space that films like Masaan and Haramkhor come from?
Experimental or independent cinema is so exciting because it is about risk-taking as there is no formula. The film should often start a debate or have some conversation with the audience. As an artist, I want to provoke certain things in the minds of the viewers. I have equal love for commercial cinema too and as an artist, I am greedy and I would love to do both. I am starting Mirzapur in Banaras directed by Karan Anshuman because the script is brilliant. My formula of choosing a character is very simple and that is what sparks me to do something different. It does not matter to me how many dialogues I have in the film or the screen time. It is all about story and characters for me.
When I did Masaan , a milestone in my life, I had no clue that it will reach such heights that entrance examinations too will have questions around it.
Tell us about Zoya Akhtar’s Made in Heaven
I had auditioned for one of the primary characters in fact, but someone else got it. Every episode is based on a marriage that takes place and I am playing a bride in only one episode from that series.
Do you want to play characters of your age?
Age is a very psychological thing; I do not know how old I am if you ask my age. Age is calculated by when you get born but I do not agree with that parameter. I sometimes feel like 25, sometimes 12 and at times 40, and I love that about myself as an artist. I am not stuck to a particular age.
In Mirzapur , I am playing a 23-year-old girl. I do not want to limit myself, some people think I am Bengali, some thinks I am Punjabi. I do not want to be labelled as one thing.
How was it like working with Nawazuddin Siddiqui?
Working with Nawaz bhai was full of experiences and I have learnt so much from him. I can work with him again and again because unka game bahut strong hai . He is very encouraging and doesn’t not make you feel that he is more experienced. He does not react as a senior.
How do you manage to juggle so many things alongside acting?
I like to be happy and for that, right from scuba diving to travelling, I keep doing things which give me creative satisfaction. I am a fashion graduate and I try to make a fashion statement which defines my individuality as clothes are not just what you wear but they also communicate.
I have edited photo books, have assisted directors to give back to the creative world from which I have taken so much. I want to be choosy about what I do also. In times when everything seems to be falling apart, if I am able to spread positivity around me, why not?
