JOIN USThinking outside the box
Bollywood newbie Shazahn Padamsee is learning salsa for her role in Madhur Bhandarkar’s romantic comedy Dil To Bachcha Hai Ji where she has been paired opposite Ajay Devgan, who is 20-years her senior.
The 21-year-old model, daughter of ad guru Alyque Padamsee and singer Sharon Prabhakar, who made her acting debut with Ranbir Kapoor in Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year, is hoping that this film will prove lucky for her.
“This is a very urban commercial film with songs and dances. In fact, I am also learning salsa for the film since there are two such sequences where I need to perform. Also, the dialogues are so good that I can't stop laughing even when I am reading them on the sets. The film has been written brilliantly,” said Shazahn. Shazahn, however, does not consider that her pairing opposite Devgan is unusual. “Nowadays films are different. So many things are happening. Gone are the days when quintessential love stories with a young boy and young girl were made with parental objection as the focus of attention,” said Shazahn.
“Could anyone have imagined Aamir Khan playing a college student in 3 Idiots? How many would have thought that Ranbir and Konkona would look convincing as a pair in Wake Up Sid? We need to stop thinking in a box,” she added.
In Rocket Singh, factors like zero romantic angle, no songs and lack of promotion meant that Shazahn was totally ignored by the audience.
It was model-actress Gauhar Khan, who got away with a meatier part even though she wasn’t even romantically paired opposite Ranbir.
Shazahn said that she neither regrets the past nor feels that she could have actually waited for a while before plunging into a film like Rocket Singh which had little to offer her. “Yes, I understand that there was not much to do there and I also feel that I can do much better than what I did then. But then it was my first film so it’s fine. I have just started off and have a long way to go. I am just 21 and having a blast. So no, I don't think that Rocket Singh... was a mistake at all. If you continue to keep waiting for the entire package to be best then one day you will become old and then start regretting that you could have handled your career differently.”