I have a dream

With a hunch that she was cut out for movies right from childhood, Vandita Shrivastava sashayed her way into tinsel town. Here in a chat with Archana Subramanian

Vandita Shrivastava

Vandita always had a gut feeling that she would be seen on the silver screen someday. An MBA-turned-actress, she comes from an army background. Her tryst with acting began with her being selected for four short films in Hindi. She has also acted in major serials like Mata ki Chowki on Sahara One and Tum Dena Saath Mera on Life OK. Besides, Vandita has walked the ramp for famous clothing brands and has sizzled in print ads.

She gets all excited the minute you bring up her favourite subject — acting. “I always wanted to do roles that Smita Patil did.” And that’s why it’s most strange when she got to tread the commercial path with The Shaukeens after having done offbeat films such as Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola and Talaash .

A true filmi person, she explains her curious decision to study MBA. “I did MBA so that I could be a thinking actress. My stints in the world of fashion and television made me gear up for the things to come. It was natural for me to evolve from short films and print ads to TV commercials, fashion shows and acting. I consider myself blessed to have worked with directors like Vishal Bhardwaj, Reema Kagti, R. Balki and Abhishek Sharma. I have, however, just begun.”

She adds, “I achieved my A-wish list of working with Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan and, of course, Anupam Kher and Anu Kapoor in

The Shaukeens at a very early stage of my career. Interacting with these superstars gave a whole new perspective to my career.” She says she observed Aamir practise his method acting on the sets of Talaash ; she also saw Amitabh plunge into the depths of the character before instinctively delivering an effortless take for Shamitabh . That’s not all. While working on Shamitabh , she realised how uncomplicated Dhanush was. “You felt like you could see his soul — no pretence at all. Working with stars like them has helped me discover the diverse layers within me and their humility is something I would like to imbibe.”

Vandita has now realised her dreams and is ahead of many contemporaries. “And the secret is hard work, perseverance and patience. There are many actresses who grab whatever opportunity comes their way, but my approach is to stick to the chosen path. I am very clear that like Amjad Khan as Gabbar Singh or Amrish Puri as Mogambo, I have to find that one character that will make me immortal. That milestone is still some time away.”

Like every other girl, Vandita too loves love stories, comedies and strong women-oriented roles. What does she plan to do next?

“Getting into regional cinema. I would love to explore every genre and play different kinds of characters. But for now, do look out for me in my forthcoming films Shamitabh and Mastizaade .”