Samantha’s quietly persuasive presence as a fiercely protective mother and a closet assassin in Raj-DK’s Citadel Honey Bunny, defines the emerging New Woman in Indian cinema. She is yet to emerge fully. But by Jove, Samantha is determined to pull Her out, kicking, dragging, and screaming. She is ready to wait it out. But she won’t play the decorative doll.
I know you say no to a helluva lot of projects. What is your criteria for saying yes to projects?
I believe that I have a certain responsibility while picking roles. A responsibility that means that I need to play characters that fairly represent women in society. I think that women today are multi-taskers, they’re world leaders, they’re change-makers and it’s time that the characters that we play on screen aren’t defined by the male protagonist of the film.
That had been the norm for as long as we can remember?
Usually our characters are always defined by the male protagonist of the film and without any character-arc or life experience of our own. So, it’s important for me now to choose characters that fairly represent the women of today.
There aren’t too many female parts that fulfil these preconditions?
Although now that would mean projects that I’m a part of are far apart, very far apart, and I wouldn’t be on screen too often but I think that whenever I do get that opportunity I will seize it, will seize the opportunity and I will do my best to give it my all.
What next from you?
I’m ready for the next challenge. I think the one I’m working on with Raj and DK next is also something very very different from what I’ve done before and it is a challenge of its own. So I am giving all of my concentration and all of my effort to this role.
