"There is nothing conventional about Phhir" – Roshni Chopra

My first eye to eye contact with Roshni Chopra was almost a year and a half ago at Indigo Cafe in Andheri when I was having the never-before-gone-on a ‘double date’ with Roshni and her co-star in Phhir – Adah Sharma. So this time around, Read More">I really wanted to go solo. A few BBM chatsRead More

My first eye to eye contact with Roshni Chopra was almost a year and a half ago at Indigo Cafe in Andheri when I was having the never-before-gone-on a 'double date' with Roshni and her co-star in Phhir - Adah Sharma. So this time around, I really wanted to go solo. A few BBM chats with Roshni and we settled on to meet at the Pali Village Cafe in Bandra. A year and a half is a long time. Times have changed and so have the movies in Bollywood but its Rosh's free spirited smile and attitude that hasn't. Draped in beige shorts and a printed top with her hair let loose, the actress walked in the restaurant on a pleasant Saturday afternoon with her blue designer purse giving her company. She's one of those individuals I've met who conveys a lot of emotion even while looking outside the window or glancing at who is walking in and out of the Pali Village Cafe. With talent that speaks volumes, ambition that says - 'I've just arrived in Bollywood. There's a long road ahead', and a striking physicality about her - her slender frame and beautiful bod, Roshni is hell bent on making her own niche in the field of entertainment. To listen to Chopra talk about her career is to hear an actress whose attitude towards her work is so not ambivalent. It's surely decisive. And so she decides - decides to order her Pizza, salad and her favourite coffee. I order my ravioli and we both start to talk about fun, films and her claim to fame. Lunch went on for about an hour and a half and soon after she left the restaurant a notion occurred in my mind - It's often thought that a woman can't be funny, that women are supposed to be sexy, not funny and so with her gift for physical expression and pin-sharp sense of timing - for both serious and humorous talks, the actress is tailor-made for comedy. I guess that'll have to wait. I mean, that'll have to be 'Phhir' kabhi! For now, here's the enchantress - Roshni Chopra.

"There's an excitement that's inexplicable that I haven't felt before"
Even though I've been in front of the camera on the television, Phhir does feel like a debut because it is my first film. Of course it feels (laughs). There's an excitement that's inexplicable that I haven't felt before. So it really feels nice after being in the television for five years to feel this newness and nervousness. It's a very 'heady' feeling!

Read More">“Nobody wants to put money in their film and not release it” I was very confident that Phhir will see the light of the day because the banner is so respectable that I already knew it would release some day or the other. Nobody wants to put their money in a film and not getRead More

"Nobody wants to put money in their film and not release it"
I was very confident that Phhir will see the light of the day because the banner is so respectable that I already knew it would release some day or the other. Nobody wants to put their money in a film and not get their film out. I mean, that's stupid. It used to happen before but now it far less. We've got to stick it out through thick and thin. Now we are back in business and I feel happy because as an individual I never gave up and I'm sure so did my producers and co-actors.

"I don't think there could've been a better time for release"
In retrospect now, I don't think there could've been a better time for release. We were scheduled for release back then when there weren't any big thriller or horror hits. But now, Vikram coming fresh after a new success of Haunted makes the audiences appetite quite high for content like Phhir. It's not a horror movie but it's a brilliant thriller that they'll enjoy. Phhir coming in after a hit is a blessing in disguise (laughs).

"There were no ego hassles and no cat fights between me, Rajniesh and Adah"
In a place where everybody is evenly placed, the energies combine together to create a common goal. There were no ego hassles and no cat fights between us three - Me, Rajniesh, Adah. There was none of that. Everyone was focused on getting their job done. There was a great equanimity on the sets because we all had similar 'newbie' status. It was a young, youthful, enthusiastic energy.

"To be back in the UK as an actress post 2002 post graduation feels unreal"
I did my post graduation in Leeds that is close to the place we shot out film - Newcastle. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I'd be back in the UK as a heroine (laughs). I re-visited England as an actress and I recall as a student I used to wear eight layers of clothes. It was minus 3 degree back in 2002. In 2008, I was wearing minimal while shooting Phhir. Its crazy isn't it? (Laughs), and this is cliché but it's the truth (smiles).

“I’m a bit of a gypsy” I didn’t consciously decide to be an actress, nor do television. I’m a bit of a gypsy. I am an artist and I translate my art into real life as well. As you can see, Read More">I am very particular about everything. Life is meant to be enjoyed. You haveRead More

"I'm a bit of a gypsy"
I didn't consciously decide to be an actress, nor do television. I'm a bit of a gypsy. I am an artist and I translate my art into real life as well. As you can see, I am very particular about everything. Life is meant to be enjoyed. You have one life that consists of many moments. I don't want to be thinking anything besides this moment, besides this fact that my first film Phhir is releasing this Friday. But tomorrow if I am hosting a show on the television then I will be sucked in that moment. The medium doesn't matter, it's the moment.

"When you meet Rajniesh you notice that there is something unsaid. It's a part of his charm"
Rajniesh is a chocolate boy with depth. It's not just all surface. When you meet him you notice that there is something unsaid, undecided or something deeper. It's a part of his charm. I see Rajniesh going places because he is so focused in what he does.

"Vikram and I have become really good friends through the ups and downs of Phhir"
I'd love to be directed by Vikram Bhatt one day. I tell this to him all the time. He laughs out loud. There were couple of stories he wanted me to act in but those aren't the films he is doing right now. We've become quite good friends through the ups and downs of Phhir (laughs). He is an intelligent person with a real mastery of his craft. Who wouldn't want to work with him?

"Adah makes me laugh out loud and is my 'go-girl' when I am down"
Adah is a laugh riot. She is like my 'go to' girl when I'm feeling down. Adah can make any situation funny. She makes me laugh out loud. I really enjoy being with her. She is mad (laughs). But that's the kind of madness that I thrive on. She is really talented and has a long road ahead of her in our industry.

"There is nothing conventional about Phhir and if there is, it ends in the first five minutes"
Phhir is an out of the box film. There is nothing conventional about it. The conventional stuff ends in the first five to ten minutes of the film. That's why Phhir has hope and so do I. I am an unconventional girl too (laughs). Phhir is a great film to catch this Friday because the film isn't about me, Rajniesh or Adah. We aren't the heroes of the film. The story is. That's the reason one should go and watch Phhir.