"Sorry, No nudity for me" says PAYAL GHOSH

"Sorry, No nudity for me" says PAYAL GHOSH to Senior Journalist JYOTHI VENKATESH in this exclusive and intimate interview for bollyy.com and Mayapuri

How did your tryst with acting start in Mumbai?

I had run away from my house in Kolkata when I was just 16 and landed in Mumbai at my didi’s house, because the acting bug had bitten me.

I started learning acting at Kishore Namit Kapoor’s Acting Classes. After doing my schooling and passing out with Political science Honours from Scottish Church College Kolkata, I took up modeling in Mumbai

Wasn’t Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi opposite Vir Das your debut film in Hindi?

No. It was not my debut film in Hindi. Freedom directed by Vivek Agnihotri was my debut film but it was not released at all.

I grabbed the role in Patel Ki Shaadi instead of waiting for a producer to team me with Shah Rukh Khan or Akshay Kumar, because I knew I was getting the role of a leading lady as well as a rare opportunity to work with seasoned actors like Rishi Kapoor and Paresh Rawal.

How was it working with Rishi Kapoor? Were you intimidated by his presence on the sets?

Rishi Kapoor is the kind of a person who I’d call a 2 am actor. He was like a father figure for me. He was very adorable and used to treat me like a kid.

You have also been a part of a film made in the UK. Tell me something about the film?

To begin with, I did a small stint in "The Predator” directed by Shane Black, who is well known for being the director of films like Iron 3 and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

It was a UK Tele movie. It was a wonderful experience. I have seen the kind of professionalism that the crews in the U.K display in the South film industry too.

Is it true that you hail from a very conservative as well as traditional family in Kolkata?

I come from an extremely traditional, orthodox and conservative family, where women weren’t allowed to wear salwar kameez or sleeveless costumes or even go out of the home after 6 p.m.

In that case, how did you gather confidence to get into films?

I gathered confidence and rebelled and fled from home to Mumbai where my sister was staying with my jijaji and their son. I had completed my 10th standard exams and it was vacation time for me.

I joined Kishore Namit Kapoor’s Acting classes not just to learn acting but also to learn how to be confident in life because acting was in any way in my veins. It was there that I learnt that I was damn good at acting.

What is your role in the film ‘New York To Haridwar’?

I play a girl with mental blocks and depression in 'New York To Haridwar'. Depression is difficult and I have been through it myself. I’d say that I see the progression of my character in the film as a personal journey as I have been in a dark place mentally in my life at some point.

The film follows the story of a girl visiting India from New York. How the events turn during her journey form the crux of the story. It's a story unlike anything we have seen so far. I can't reveal much about it yet.

My character travels from New York and her life changes as she comes to India in the film. When I came from such humble backgrounds and stardom happened and things went down south and I sprang back to my feet.

What is your role in Red?

Red directed by Ashok Tyagi and produced by Rajeev Chaudhary is a romantic thriller in which Krishna Abhishek is my leading man. My character has three different shades to it as I play a college girl, a housewife and also an escort girl.

The role was very challenging to me as an actor and I am waiting for films which offer me even more challenges as an actor

Considering the fact that you are a Bengali girl, how come you have not acted in even a single film in Bengali?

Yes. Sadly I have not acted in even one Bengali film till date and am very keen on being part of a Bengali film like say Aparna Sen’s Unneeshe April or Mr & Mrs Iyer.

Name the filmmakers who are in your wish list as an actor?

Sooraj Barjatya and Aditya Chopra

Who are your favorite actors?

Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit

You are quite glamorous in real life. Are you open to exposing your skin or doing a film which requires you to indulge in lip to lip to lip kisses?

No nudity for me or else I would have said yes to many offers for films as well as web series which required me to shed my clothes.

Yes, I am glamorous and have also posted many glamorous pictures of mine on social media but I do not want to do any film which may per se embarrass my folks at home in Kolkata.

Does it mean that you rule out any web series of yours as an actor?

No. Things are changing slowly and steadily and hence if I get a good role in a decent web series which is not only not obscene but also does not require me to expose, I am game.