Synopsis
Actress Lisa Ray recalls her experience with Vikram Bhatt's 2001 film 'Kasoor', celebrating its unique storytelling and representation of women. She emphasizes the film's layered narrative and the personal growth she experienced during its production.Key Takeaways
- Lisa Ray reflects on her role in 'Kasoor'.
- The film is described as a unique 'unfilmy' narrative.
- It features a strong independent female lawyer.
- The soundtrack remains relevant today.
- Lisa overcame her introversion to participate in the film.
Mumbai, March 13 (NationPress) Actress Lisa Ray took a nostalgic journey while reflecting on Vikram Bhatt’s 2001 film “Kasoor”, which she described as a refreshingly “unfilmy film”.
The actress shared music videos from the movie on her Instagram, featuring tracks like “Kitni Bechain Hoke”, “Dekha Jo Tumko”, and “Dil Mera Tod Diya”. The film also stars Aftab Shivdasani.
In her post, she expressed: “The year was 2000 and a refreshingly unfilmy film was offered to me by what was referred to as the #BhattCamp: the incredibly talented and philosophical @maheshfilm and his brother, Mukesh Bhatt, who specialized in producing unconventional Hindi films.”
Lisa discussed how, during the 2000s, female roles were quite limited and how “Kasoor” centered around an independent female lawyer.
“At a time when female roles were still relegated to a few stray scenes and dance numbers in Switzerland in tasteful pastel, the film in question, #Kasoor revolved around an independent female lawyer, Simran Bhargav and her relationship with a mysterious, sexy client, played by @aftabshivdasani.”
The plot involves a man named Shekhar, who is accused of murdering his wife, and he hires Simran, a lawyer with an impeccable reputation. She believes in his innocence and starts developing feelings for him, unaware of his true intentions.
Lisa pointed out that the film had multiple layers and allowed for a realistic wardrobe of clothing.
“It was dark, it was mysterious (even though the script was ‘inspired’ by the American film, Jagged Edge); it was edgy for the times. I could wear a realistic wardrobe of black tailored clothes (except in some of these songs) and it was a female-centric story.”
Before this, Lisa “had resisted Bollywood reasoning” as it didn’t resonate with her.
“Despite the many tempting offers that were thrown my way in the 90s, I simply couldn’t relate to the storylines (which, let’s face it, were all based on very similar tropes) and the filmi culture. Besides, as an introvert, I was terrified of performing in front of large groups (consider the crew on a typical Hindi film set- it’s a lot).”
After a meeting with director Vikram Bhatt at the production house, she overcame her “reserve and shyness” and “agreed to plumb the darker depths of my being (though I didn’t know the first thing about acting) to be part of Kasoor.”
The actress expressed her amazement that even after all these years, the soundtrack by Nadeem Shravan is still well-remembered and relevant.
“Sometimes many elements join together to create something that will be embraced by generations to come, an embrace that unites the past with the present. What a beautiful, timeless encounter with Hindi films. For me, my personality and nature would have been extinguished by anything else.”
