Marvelous Ms Kapoor

Karisma Kapoor confesses to Tanzim Pardiwalla that working in '90s comedies was just as hard as playing a nuanced part in a berlin-select series brown

-  TANZIM PARDIWALLA

As any '90s kid will tell you, Karisma Kapoor's movies are a separate genre in themselves. As one of the OGS from the era, the actress occupies an interesting space in Bollywood and pop culture. One that has defined Hindi cinema over the years. It's impossible not to think of her clad in the best of fashion's offerings, grooving to an iconic number or making audiences laugh with her impeccable comic timing. However, with her latest series Brown, the star has managed the seemingly impossible with a role she's never done before. The Berlin International Film Festival select series sees her in a de-glam look playing a nuanced character - Rita Brown. Karisma offers a restrained performance as a recovering alcoholic police inspector tasked with solving a gruesome crime. And if you ask her, she says doing this role was as difficult or easy as keeping the audiences hooked to popcorn comedies. A feat she has achieved time and again in her decades-long filmography. Excerpts:

YOU’VE BEEN SELECTIVE WITH YOUR ROLES OF LATE AND BROWN IS SO DIFFERENT COMPARED TO WHAT YOU’RE KNOWN FOR. WHAT MADE YOU SAY YES TO THE PROJECT?

She’s so raw and so real. The show deals with so many human emotions and relevant topics. There are problems in society that we don’t want to deal with or talk about. But here’s Rita Brown dealing with these things and in doing so, talking about them. That was quite moving for me. It was a big challenge for me. It’s something I’ve obviously never done. Also, it’s something that’s never been seen before on screen, the kind of rawness that she has.

BROWN PREMIERED IN BERLIN WHERE IT WAS ONE OF THE MARKET SELECTS. HOW SURREAL DOES THAT FEEL?