Mahima ready for art films
From Noreen Aslam

BOMBAY—‘Pardes’ girl Mahima Chaudhary was a model before she became a Bollywood actress, once appearing with Aishwarya Rai in a Pepsi commercial. Her first breakthrough performance, where she won rave reviews, was ‘Pardes’ (1997) as Ganga, the love interest of two men played by Shah Rukh Khan and Apoorva Agnihotri. Unlike most top actresses in India, Chaudhry did not mind playing a second fiddle in films like ‘Dhadkan’ (2000) and ‘Dil Kya Kare’ (1999) & ‘Deewane’. Apart from her role in ‘Pardes’, she also won acclaim for her role as Kavita, the loving wife of a man (played by Ajay Devgan) in ‘Dil Kya Kare’. She was nominated for Filmfare Awards for that role. The cute lady was recently in the national capital for South Asia Film Festival.
Excerpts of her interview:
How does it feel to be part of South Asia Film Festival?
It feels great. It’s a good effort. I think we should have more festivals; it gives an opportunity to so many film makers who are unable to find exhibitors, to find a platform where they can show there film. Even the distributors, who are looking for different projects that are ready to go to these festivals, find them very convenient. I think it’s a very healthy concept and should be encouraged. I like the way the media turned up and they got support from other countries. The concept is about crossing borders, living in harmony , it’s a very positive festival.
Will this film festival trend last long?
Festivals have been part of the global market for a very long time; that’s the way they market smaller films. It’s a commercial get-together where they look for buyers. Also buyers who are attending the films are looking for good projects and the actors are there to promote. This is especially for independent producers and not the studio films. It’s something that Indians have just woken up to, they have started taking part and sending their films; they have become aware of so many festivals. They wanted to make films and have global audience. These festivals provide opportunities.
How should the Indian audience be made aware of art films?
I think it is remarkable that Madhur Bhandarkar is here at the festival. Some of the people might categorise his films as art films. However, he has got commercial success for his films. So, the gap is narrowing down. So, it’s becoming difficult to judge a film as an art film, because once any art film is a success, it’s tagged as a commercial film.
Would you like to work in art films?
Yes, I would like to because those subjects are always different, that’s why they are made on a smaller budget because their directors don’t want to take any risk financially. The story content is so high that you really don’t need that fanfare; it’s normally based on reality.
What are your upcoming projects?
My upcoming projects are ‘Hope and A Little Sugar’ opposite Vikram Chatwal. This is doing rounds of festivals. It’s based on 9/11. And, the other one is ‘Kudiyon Ka Hai Zamana’. This is a commercial film of metro females living out there.
When was the last time you had rendezvous with yourself?
It’s been a long time. And for me it means doing anything that you love at that moment; sometimes just sitting quietly can give you a lot of peace, sometimes watching TV and switching channels. Even while walking with my dog gives me a lot of peace and this is something that I want to do.