“Hailing from a conservative family can get very difficult if they don’t support your career choices,” says Neetu Chandraa. But the actor says she could not have come so far without the support of her mother. “A bindaas lass from Patna, I was no different from other girls back home who wanted to study and pursue a career. But joining the dramatics group at college helped me discover my latent talent. And everything changed after I posed for a magazine cover,” she says.
Neetu too followed the done and dusted path to cinema, starting with a portfolio shoot and then sending her photos to producers and directors. The ascent from modelling to advertising and then to cinema happened, but it was the wait that was frustrating, she says. “I did not hear from anyone for almost a year until destiny came knocking with an ad that led to my acting in director Priyadarshan’s Garam Masala. Thus began my journey in Bollywood.”
“I pursued dancing, martial arts and aspired to set foot in the South as well. And my tryst with Tamil cinema began when I was shooting for an ad in Puducherry. Director Vikram narrated the script and Yaavarum Nalam marked my foray into Tamil,” says the actress, who was in Chennai to pay tribute to veteran actress Sripriya.
Twenty-two films later, Neetu says she is willing to experiment with roles, plans to expand her horizon by venturing into production and acting in foreign movies. Two of her international flicks are almost ready for release. So, what is it that makes Neetu different? “Though I am an actor, you will never see me drinking, smoking or partying. I am still a small-town girl at heart and like to take things easy.” But does this attitude make life difficult for her? “I don't have any friends in the industry. I am here to work and friendship, for me, has to be deep. When it comes to maintaining sanity, I rely on yoga.”
In a field where competition is tough, what is Neetu’s strategy to get noticed? “I do admit that there are not many scripts to choose from. Hits and misses are part of life. They also add to your glamour and credibility quotient, and therefore, it's important to always be level-headed.”
Ask her about her award-winning role in Aadhi Bhagavan (2013) , and Neetu says it's very close to her heart. “I managed to pull off all the stunts myself, and it gave me immense satisfaction.”
Despite not being seen on screen for over a year, Neetu remains focussed in pursuing her dreams and like she says, “it always comes back to you if you deserve it”. And now, her fortunes have changed, for, apart from her play Umrao Jaan, she has four films in her kitty, and is all set to sign a couple more in Telugu and Tamil.
