Lust for life

JAYA AHSAN HAS ALWAYS MADE ACTING LOOK EASY. TANISHA BHATTACHARYA CHATS WITH THE LOVELY BONG BEAUTY

Was Kadak Singh the first opportunity that came your way in the Hindi film industry?

No, I did get a few OTT offers. But I felt this was the right time and I wanted to work with Tony Da (Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury). He has been on my bucket list forever. And who would say no to working with Pankaj Tripathi? My role was short, but the character to me, was interesting with a lot of layers. It was the other woman that we so easily bracketed in general. Her relationship with AK Srivastava (Pankaj Tripathi) is so nuanced. That’s what seemed interesting to me, and so I took it up.

Does being a six-time Bangladesh National Film Award winner come with pressure and expectations for you?

I have never been bothered about what people around me are expecting when you put it that way. I have only been concerned about how I feel and how I keep challenging myself and getting better at what I do. I have always wanted to do work outside my comfort zone. I probably took up Kadak Singh on a whim. I learnt Hindi and now I can speak fluently and read as well. Mumbai is a big place and for an artiste to prove herself there, it was exciting to me.

Your films Debi, Binisutoy and Bhalobashar Shohor, all reflect heavily on longing, loneliness and alienation. It seems like a pattern…