"I was very afraid of Vikramaditya Motwane" – Shirin

They say Kolkata is stuck in time. And if this is any true, you need to meet Shirin: the beautiful Bengali actress who has never acted in a film before. But that doesn’t take away the passion, dedication and love for her career in acting. Plus, Read More">she is a FTII pass out who was raggedRead More

They say Kolkata is stuck in time. And if this is any true, you need to meet Shirin: the beautiful Bengali actress who has never acted in a film before. But that doesn't take away the passion, dedication and love for her career in acting. Plus, she is a FTII pass out who was ragged for not having any knowledge of world cinema. All this and she impressed Vikramaditya Motwane in her first ever Bollywood audition and bagged Lootera. Today Shirin has no qualms about admitting the above because she has learnt the life's most essential teaching from her father - 'Not knowing isn't anyone's fault but not wanting to know is definitely your fault'. And if that's the way ahead for Shirin, then be it, because she wants to keep learning. I met the Lootera actress at Costa to talk more on her Bengali background and Bollywood.

"I have a very strong theatre background"
I have a very strong theatre background. All my studies were acting oriented. My father is a well known face in the Bengali movies, not a star though (laughs). I gathered all the courage one day to tell my father that I wanted to pursue acting. He just said, "Follow your dreams". I then completed my degree in drama from Kolkata. Then I got selected in FTII and I finished my diploma in acting. That's my journey in short.

“I bought my dream from my father” In spite of my father being an introvert, Read More">he always advised me to pursue my dreams and used to praise me a lot by saying that I am much more focused and talented than him when it came to acting. But I’d like to say that it wasRead More

"I bought my dream from my father"
In spite of my father being an introvert, he always advised me to pursue my dreams and used to praise me a lot by saying that I am much more focused and talented than him when it came to acting. But I'd like to say that it was because of my father that I wanted to become an actor. My dreams came to reality by seeing him act. I bought my dream from my father.

"I didn't grow up watching Bollywood but Bengali movies, all classics"
As a kid, I didn't grow up watching Bollywood but Bengali movies, all classics. I remember that every Sunday we used to watch Bengali movies on television, exactly how Ekta Kapoor's serials indicate. The entire family used to see movies. My background is very strong. But before entering FTII, I had not watched a single world cinema. I had zero knowledge of it. I recall in our ragging session at FTII, I was being teased by my seniors for not knowing world cinema and then I recalled a quote by my father, "Not knowing isn't anyone's fault but not wanting to know is definitely your fault". Post that, I saw In the Realm Of Senses, etc. From the new movies I've seen Kahaani, Paan Singh Tomar, Udaan. The first movie I saw in a theatre was Jurassic Park.

"I auditioned for a Bengali girl's role in Lootera"
Lootera is a dream debut for me. Atul Mongia is a dear friend of mine who also happened to be the casting director for Lootera. He had seen my photographs prior to my auditions. My FTII senior Vinod was assisting Atul on the movie. So I was called for an audition by Vinod. I was just about to leave FTII after my two year course. I went from Pune to Mumbai for auditioning and after couple of tests they were happy to select me as one of the three ladies in Lootera - Sonakshi, Divya Dutta and me.

“I was very afraid of Vikramaditya Motwane” Vikramaditya Motwane doesn’t talk too much on the sets. He is a work-o-holic. From day one I was afraid of Vikram because I used to recall my Mathematics teacher from school – strict but quiet. One day while filming, Read More">he asked me why I was nervous and IRead More

"I was very afraid of Vikramaditya Motwane"
Vikramaditya Motwane doesn't talk too much on the sets. He is a work-o-holic. From day one I was afraid of Vikram because I used to recall my Mathematics teacher from school - strict but quiet. One day while filming, he asked me why I was nervous and I kept on saying I wasn't. He cut the shot and asked me to come near him. He said, "Did I ever shout on you or scold you?" And then he hugged me. I guess the fear from that moment on just disappeared and I was back to my best.

"Sonakshi talks a lot and I like that. She also has a great sense of humour"
When I saw Dabangg little did I know that I would be working with Sonakshi Sinha. The first day I met Sonakshi, Vikram and Ranveer was on the mahurat day. Funnily, I told her, 'Please give my regards to my dear senior.' In FTII we call everyone above us seniors and it's not like how it sounded in school and colleges. Senior meant respect. Shatrughan Sinha was our senior at FTII. Sonakshi talks a lot and I liked that. She was always smiling and has a great sense of humour.

Read More">“Ranveer Singh dropped me home when my car was running late. He has no ego” Ranveer Singh is a cool guy. I recall that I had finished my day’s shoot and was waiting for my car. He immediately offered me a ride home in his car. That’s how sweet he is. He has no egoRead More

"Ranveer Singh dropped me home when my car was running late. He has no ego"
Ranveer Singh is a cool guy. I recall that I had finished my day's shoot and was waiting for my car. He immediately offered me a ride home in his car. That's how sweet he is. He has no ego of being a big star. What I liked about him was the fact that he checked on every cast member personally like your friend would.

"I made sure everything looked vintage, my eyebrows, my hairstyle, the way I wear a saree, etc"
I had to gain a bit of weight for my role in Lootera and because I was playing a Bengali girl, I had to do a bit of homework by seeing a few Bengali movies again. I like getting into my character and researching myself. Because it's a period setting, I made sure everything looked vintage, right from my eyebrows to the way I wear a saree, their hairstyle back then, etc. My costume designer Suborna too helped me a lot. She had earlier done Parineeta.