Before bringing the conversation to a close, one can't help but ask her to put all rumors to rest and state the truth. Is her Janet really based on Carol Gracias? There is a hearty laugh before she taunts, "There you go. Come on, Carol is a dear friend of mine. See, when I read the script, the only similarity I could see in Carol and Janet is that they both are Catholics. I don't see anything more than that."
It seems like a strong deja vu now. Just like the beginning of the conversation, she is back to her guarded self. Ok, so hypothetically speaking, if she starts shooting for Fashion and somewhere during the middle of the shoot she is told that her role is being modeled on Carol Gracias and a sequence in the film would require a wardrobe malfunction incident; what would she do? "Hmmm..", she pauses for a while before bringing on that giggle again, "Since it is a hypothetical question, I will also give a hypothetical answer. If something like that comes up, I will do what the film's story and script demands."
With a teasing reply like this, one looks at Madhur Bhandarkar as the last resort. "Keep guessing", says the film maker who is raring to go behind the camera again, "I am not saying anything for the moment. Even I keep reading about this day in and night out about the character being inspired by Carol or storyline of Fashion being based on some other newspaper headlines. Let the film release and we would all know what all Fashion will reveal. Pun intended!"
Still, with top line actors like Priyanka and Kangana around; doesn't it give her some sense of insecurity? Mugdha continues to demonstrate the same confidence level, though in a restrained and polite manner, "See, I have observed Madhur's films closely. I know how each of his characters is so well etched out in his films. Actors are well managed in his films and he casts an actor who is right for the role. This pretty much assures me that I won't be short changed. Mine is a hard hitting and performance oriented part and I am going to go all out to make sure that I live up to the confidence shown in me."
Since she can see the trust shown by the filmmaker in her, did she also bag the role after some sort of auditions? "As a matter of fact Madhur Bhandarkar didn't do any auditions for my part. We had met earlier through common people and he knew my work at ramp and commercials. I am informed that he could see me fitting into the vision he had for the role which I am going to play now. Though there wasn't any active preparation required for the role, there may be some workshops prior to the film's shoot beginning in December this year", she details.
She laughs when told about the same, "Isn't it good if we wait to see what happens on screen rather than start talking about it right now? Yes, I play a Mumbai based character named Janet who is strong, confident and has a mind of her own. The role has been written quite well and we all are aware that characterization is one of the many strengths of Madhur Bhandarkar."
Her co-stars in the film are Priyanka Chopra and Kangana Ranaut. While both the actors are pretty much established in the film world, she is a newcomer. On the other hand, since she comes from a strong ramp background, it gives her an edge too. Will it be a mutual learning process?
"I can talk about myself that it will be a huge learning experience. And why just Priyanka or Kangana? I believe it is the entire film making process which should be a good experience in itself. There should be lot of new things to be observed and learned. I am honored to be a part of Madhur Bhandarkar cinema. You can't get a better start than this, can you?" questions Mugdha.
What's common between Madhur Bhandarkar films like Chandni Bar, Satta, Page 3, Corporate and Traffic Signal? Leading ladies of each of these films - Tabu, Raveena Tandon, Konkona Sen, Bipasha Basu, Neetu Chandra - had some kind of acting experience behind them. Hence it comes as a surprise when Madhur introduces a rank newcomer as one of the leading ladies in his latest film Fashion.
This newcomer is Mugdha Godse, an established ramp walker and model who has number of feathers up her crown, be it modeling, television commercials, music videos or press campaigns. A popular face seen in Close–Up, Airtel (with Shah Rukh Khan), Fiat Palio, Symphony Water Cooler and music videos like Jassi's 'Koka Tera Koka' and Daler Mehndi's 'Mauja Len De' amongst other videos, Mugdha is not new to the arc lights.
With Fashion, Madhur Bhandarkar launches her in the role of Janet, which is rumored to be based on the real life of another popular model Carol Gracias and borrows incidents from her infamous wardrobe malfunction on the ramp.
Joginder Tuteja catches up with Mugdha and Madhur and tries to get more dope about the lady and her role in the film. And yes, eventually one does get a teasing response to the Carol connection as well!