Young Bollywood actress Minissha Lamba made quite an impact with her debut film, Yahaan, where she played a Kashmiri girl in love with an Indian soldier in war-torn Srinagar.
Unfortunately, her next two roles, in Corporate and Honeymoon Travels Ltd, were not lead ones. But now she has another big film running in the theatres — Dus Kahaniyan. She's also signed a Ranbir Kapoor film with the Yashraj banner.
tabloid! speaks to Minissha, as she's poised for stardom.
Are you happy with the way your career is taking shape?
I am still young and consider myself a newcomer in the industry, but I am very much happy with the films I have done so far. Of course, Yahaan will always be a special film for me and to get another film like Yahaan will take a while as I was simply lucky to get such a role in my first film.
I have been appreciated for whatever I have done so far, and I believe that is a good start to my career.
Tell us something about your latest film, Dus Kahaniyan.
Dus Kahaniyan has ten unique short tales put together in one big film. My story is called Pooranmashi and it is based on Kartar Singh Duggal's short story. It deals with the mother-daughter bond, where the mother, played by Amrita Singh, would go to any extent to get her daughter happily married.
It is an emotional story that runs for approximately 10 minutes but has enough substance to give you a fulfilling experience.
How was your experience of acting with Amrita Singh?
It was an honour for me to share screen space with somebody as talented as Amrita Singh. She made me comfortable and was very helpful on the sets. She shared her vast experience with me, which I believe will come handy for me, as I do more films in the future.
What are your next films?
After Dus Kahaniyan, I have Anant Mahadevan's Anamika co-starring Dino Morea. It is a slick thriller along the lines of Aksar and Aggar. It has some good music and a very intriguing storyline. I have recently signed Yashraj's next film to be directed by Siddharth Anand and has Ranbir Kapoor in the lead. The film also stars Deepika Padukone, Bipasha Basu and Katrina Kaif.
With so many newcomers and star kids, how do you plan to make your presence felt in Bollywood?
I believe it is the script that really matters in multi-starrer films and how well your character is written, irrespective of the length of the role. Basically, I would love to contribute to the film and it doesn't matter to me how much screen time I have. Moreover, Bollywood is opening up to new talent in all arenas and your background doesn't matter as long as you give your best to every opportunity you get.
I believe there is enough space for everyone in the industry and that eventually I will carve a niche for myself.
Was acting your first choice as a career?
Well to be honest, acting happened by chance. I always wanted to be a war journalist, but I got into modelling and my Cadbury commercial helped me bag my first film, Yahaan. Now I have taken up acting seriously and I am currently enjoying being part of Bollywood.
