"My character of Shonali in Soundtrack is aggressive & confident" – Mrinalini Sharma

There’s something about her that makes you say those cliché lines – ‘I think I’ve seen you before’ or ‘I think we’ve met somewhere’. But say those lines on her face and you’ll see those dark brown eyes looking at you in frenzy. Honestly, Read More">I don’t like to look into Mrinalini’s eyes directly. She’s tooRead More

There's something about her that makes you say those cliché lines - 'I think I've seen you before' or 'I think we've met somewhere'. But say those lines on her face and you'll see those dark brown eyes looking at you in frenzy. Honestly, I don't like to look into Mrinalini's eyes directly. She's too overwhelming. But she isn't what you think she is. Instead, try this: Call her and invite her to your house warming and she'll land up with a can of Red bull and charm you within the first five minutes you spend with her chatting about movies, men, mythology and more. I met the sexy Sharma at my favourite coffee house - Costa, and yes, she does like it frothy, and a mix of hot and cold. She insists I should try the Latte Caramellato with three sachets of premixed brown sugar, cream and a dollop of vanilla ice-cream. Actresses were always considered as some of the most influential sources of inspiration when it comes to hair styles and fashion, but coffee? Interesting! She has a warm laugh, nearly a guffaw. And she eats: declaring she is 'so hungry', she orders a toasted mushroom and cheese sandwich. As she grabs a bite, I quickly look at her. Looking lean, luscious and a combination of giggly and erotic, Sharma opens up to her most audacious roles on celluloid so far, courtesy her new movie Soundtrack. Mrinalini doesn't believe in waiting, and even though she's been patient for quite some time for her sandwich to arrive and Soundtrack to fall in her lap, she really does bring 'sexy' back on the big screen. Now that's been quite a wait for the viewers! Honestly, her body can tell a million stories. "I choose things that are so overly ambitious, and if I can't do stuff like that, I don't want to be doing this," she says. Scratch the surface, however, and the attitude seems more about the passion and perfectionism she feels about her work than the opposite. "A compulsion absolutely fills you," she says of finding a good part, and admits that she sometimes has difficulty letting go. Kinetic, she jiggles, feints, and darts as she talks, hanging back, looking off to the side, signalling resistance, a combative intelligence. In other words, Sharma projects the kind of wary, rebellious edge that is so much more typical of her age group. Then I dared to look at her again, right in those eyes because I don't care a f*** about what her age is. All I know is that she's a sexy beast ready to unleash come Soundtrack this Friday.

“My role of Shonali is aggressive, confident and you don’t want to mess with her” I’ve played demure characters before but nothing like Shonali. Shonali isn’t Mrinalini Sharma. Shonali is too glamorous, aggressive, confident, in your face, Read More">and you don’t want to mess with her. You don’t want to have a fight with her inRead More

"My role of Shonali is aggressive, confident and you don't want to mess with her"
I've played demure characters before but nothing like Shonali. Shonali isn't Mrinalini Sharma. Shonali is too glamorous, aggressive, confident, in your face, and you don't want to mess with her. You don't want to have a fight with her in the dark alley because she will get a bottle smashed on your head. My long hair went, all these film references thrown my way, and I'm in purple, green wigs. There was a lot of searching within to find me in the character.

"In the original - All Gone Pete Tong, you couldn't hate the DJ if you wanted to"
I've seen the original film called All Gone Pete Tong. What I liked about that movie was the fact that how real the DJ was, how believable he was, he was so fallen and yet he was so there, real. You couldn't hate him even if you wanted to, you could identify with his ups and downs, you identify with his power high, his drop in life and you wanted to identify with his resurrection.

"I've pushed the barrier of my own comfort levels in this movie that a lot of people choose not to do"
I've pushed the barrier of my own comfort levels in this movie that a lot of people choose not to do. Yes, this movie was offered to a lot of actresses but none of them wanted to be a part of it. This isn't your run of the mill movie. It's edgy, very edgy. There are so many aspects to the character of Shonali that I wish I would love to have. Beyond all the madness of this character, she is strong. Does this film define me in the years to come, well, I don't know.

"There is a range of music that goes from electronic, club, sufi to soft rock"
This is a whole different film with a whole different sound. The Medival Punditz have done a fabulous job as far as the soundtrack of Soundtrack is concerned. They've gone beyond what they've been doing for all these years. There is a range of music that goes from electronic, club, sufi to soft rock.

“The soundtrack defined Soundtrack“ I’ll describe all songs in one word: ‘What the F‘ – Crazy’, ‘Main Chala‘ – Kailash Kher, ‘Ek Manzil‘ – Inspirational, ‘Ruk Jaana Nahi‘ – Memories, ‘Jannat‘ – My favourite, ‘Banao‘ – Banao aur Banao (laughs). ‘Naina Laage‘ – Soft, trippy, ‘Yeh Jeevan Hai‘ – Soothing, ‘Fakira‘ – Club, Read More">‘Atomiser‘ –Read More

"The soundtrack defined Soundtrack"
I'll describe all songs in one word: 'What the F' - Crazy', 'Main Chala' - Kailash Kher, 'Ek Manzil' - Inspirational, 'Ruk Jaana Nahi' - Memories, 'Jannat' - My favourite, 'Banao' - Banao aur Banao (laughs). 'Naina Laage' - Soft, trippy, 'Yeh Jeevan Hai' - Soothing, 'Fakira' - Club, 'Atomiser' - We all know (laughs). The soundtrack defined Soundtrack

"Rajeev is a brave actor and I appreciate his cinema a lot"
I completely appreciate Rajeev Khandelwal's cinema. I think he is a brave actor. To walk away from what can be defined as commercial cinema and take on characters and situations that he believes in. He has had his share of waiting and he has proved his worth as an actor and that's the most one can ask for as an actor. What Friday brings no one knows. But if Soundtrack can be described, it's young; it's a quirky and an emotional ride. It's a crisp film.

"It's ridiculous how quiet Neerav Ghosh is on the sets. His silence is golden"
Neerav Ghosh was a part of the band called 'Gravy Train' a long time back and hence the ear for music. He is bringing his experience to Soundtrack. He is a fearless director. It's his voice all through even though it's a remake of All Gone Pete Tong. He is silent and he will never comment on your 'take'. Most actors will take a directors silence as bad but not Neerav's. Nothing shakes him and he knows how to deal with stress. It's ridiculous how quiet he is.

"I have to give Rajeev two thumbs up in keeping me comfortable during those 'hot' scenes"
You are not being honest to your film if you don't show intimacy in a movie like this. I have to give Rajeev two thumbs up in keeping me comfortable during those 'hot' scenes. Every actor is edgy before he jumps in such scenes. But having said that, I have to say this that Soundtrack has a lot of suggestive intimacy. I can't reveal that or I'll ruin it for you. You are in for a shock.

“I wouldn’t know how I would deal with a hearing disorder” The fact that Soundtrack is a true story, I give credit to the man who fought back, but if this was really happening to me in life (rapidly going deaf), Read More">I know for the fact that I would be crushed for a long time.Read More

"I wouldn't know how I would deal with a hearing disorder"
The fact that Soundtrack is a true story, I give credit to the man who fought back, but if this was really happening to me in life (rapidly going deaf), I know for the fact that I would be crushed for a long time. I don't know how I would deal with such a situation. I pray that I never come to that situation. Sometimes I think about what if I can't see or what if I can't hear. There are people who fight back, who live life with normalcy, they are inspirational but I wouldn't know how I would deal with a hearing disorder.

"I used to listen to a lot of Beethoven, Rod Stewart, Bee Gees in my dad's car"
The first time I got zapped by listening to anyone's music, it had to be Michael Jackson's. I used to listen to a lot of music in my dad's car - the Bee Gees, Rod Stewart, Beethoven etc. My parents liked music. There was classical as well. My childhood introduction to popular pop music would have to be Michael Jackson. I was his biggest fan. My favourite track of MJ is 'Smooth Criminal' and 'Billy Jean'.

"For me, music is also literal. It defines the time I am in"
Music, for me, is a reflection of my moods. There is a certain genre of music that I listen to when I am sad, happy, excited, etc. For me, music is also literal. It defines the time I am in. There are songs that speak to me and I'd listen to it again and again till I feel better or calmer.

"The three conditions I accepted were - wear a bikini, smoke on screen and a lot of intimate scenes"
I got a call from HMV and Neerav is someone whom I had met a few years back while he was planning another project. At that point, Rajeev Khandelwal was also zeroed in for the film but it didn't pan out. I walked in, and there was Neerav. Now this is really funny because he refused to tell me what the character was. He put three conditions in front of me and told me to pick them. I had to say yes to them and I had guess the character, according to Neerav. Considering the nature of the movie, the conditions were: I had to wear a bikini, I had to smoke in the film and I had some intimate scenes with my co-star. I was listening to these conditions he put forth and all he said was to trust him. I got my role of Shonali.