She is known for her singing. But Monali Thakur, the 'Sawaar doon' girl has lately discovered her metier as an actress with her hard-hitting performance as a child prostitute in Nagesh Kukunoor's Lakshmi.
The spirited girl has come home with the Best Actress award at the South-Asian International Film Festival in Washington, making her the first Bollywood singer to have won an award for acting.
Ecstatic and enthused Monali exclaims, "What can I say? It was a bolt from the blue. I thought the movie was forgotten, though the pain and suffering I went through in portraying the prostitute will remain with me forever. Now this award has strengthened my faith in my decision to pursue a double career as a singer and an actress."
Says Monali, "Yes, I am going to continue as both an actor and a singer. When I did Lakshmi the buzz in the singing world was that I was giving up singing for acting. In fact, Amit Trivedi asked about my plans. That shook me up. But now I feel I've the confidence to overcome people's doubts and go ahead with both careers."
Monali says she isn't happy with the quality of songs on offer. "I am in no hurry as a singer or an actor. I won't accept everything that comes my way. The songs I sing have to have something to offer me. The same goes for the roles I accept."
Monali has already completed a second acting assignment. "It's a comedy called Mango directed by Abbas Tyrewala. I've a completely different role from what I did in Lakshmi. I play a feisty girl who cons three men played by Rannvijay, his brother Harman (who makes his acting debut) and Chandan Roy Sanyal into believing she loves each one of them. After the dark gut-wrenching role in Lakshmi I enjoyed this naughty comedy."
She is now looking at other acting assignments. "I want to be known as a good singer who can act," Monali says ambitiously.
Before Monali, Sulakshana Pandit and Salma Agha have tried the combination of singer and actress, and failed.
Let's hope Monali is the first singer-actress since Suraiya to establish a foothold in both the spheres.
BOLLYWOOD NEWS - LIVE UPDATES
Catch us for latest Bollywood News, New Bollywood Movies update, Box office collection, New Movies Release , Bollywood News Hindi, Entertainment News, Bollywood Live News Today & Upcoming Movies 2024 and stay updated with latest hindi movies only on Bollywood Hungama.
