Anyone who owns a television set could not have ignored the promotional videos for Vikram Bhatt’s Hate Story 2 and in them noticed the familiar face of Surveen Chawla, albeit in a brand new avatar. The actress who had in the last few years, made a space for herself on the small screen, playing a role in Kahin To Hoga , hosting Comedy Circus ke Superstars and also appearing with cricketer Sreesanth in the dance-reality series Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena is no stranger to films. She has appeared in numerous Punjabi films and also recently did an item number for Humshakals but Hate Story 2 , where she plays X, a woman scorned and out to take revenge, was her most challenging project yet.
A month after its release, the actress spoke to us about her experience of filming and her role as Sonika in the dark thriller. “As a medium, film is certainly more complicated in terms of the storytelling and narrative but other than that it’s not too difficult from acting in television. Even the level of melodrama that set television serials apart from feature film has come down in the last few years,” says Surveen, who confesses that she finds films to be far more satisfying and exciting. “It’s because once a film is done you can look forward to doing something completely different. This way, you are creatively toying with something new every day,’ she explains. To take on the role of Sonika in Hate Story 2 , was a “no brainer” for the young actress. “Although it was not an ideal debut – with an A-list actor and or director – the character offered a platter for me to showcase more than what I could have in one. It was an opportunity I didn’t want to miss,” says Surveen. “I had the option of taking up the responsibility of the character on my shoulders or waiting for another and I am glad I made a decision to go with the former.”
Rather than look outwards for inspiration for her role – variations of which have been showcased in the Indian cinema several times – Surveen spent time reading and reading the script. “The focus is on how good you can be and how honestly you portrayed the role,” she points out. : I didn’t want any outside reference point for the role – I wanted to keep it a virgin, and make the role mine so I just read the script over and over again, spent a lot of time reading it with the director. I also researched quite a bit on the medical condition the character had.”
