Homeward bound

On returning to India, Ferena Wazeir has landed several big projects in the Hindi film industry and one with Oscar-winning director Danis Tanovic. She discusses with Mathures Paul the difference in work culture in India and Scotland

After Deepka Padukone, a number of young talented actresses are all set to face the spotlight. Besides Shruti Seth and Shruti Haasan, another contender for a leading spot in the industry is Ferena Wazeir, whose family has strong ties with Kashmir but she was brought up in Scotland. Once she returned to India, it was only a matter of time before she landed important roles in films directed by the Hindi film industry’s leading directors.
Wazeir will soon be seen in Ketan Mehta’s period epic Rang Rasiya ~ produced by Deepa Sahi ~ which is based on Raja Ravi Varma’s life. She essays the role of a journalist and the “third love” in the painter’s life. Wazeir has also landed a three-movie deal with a major studio in Bollywood. Adding to her kitty is Sadiyaan, a Raj Kanwar movie that features Luv Sinha (Shatrugan Sinha’s son), Rekha, Rishi Kapoor and Hema Malini. Well, that’s not all. The beauty from Scotland has signed on a Hollywood project with Danis Tanovic, the Oscar-winning director, for No Man’s Land. Also in the pipeline is a movie with Soni Razdan, the adaptation of Little Daughters, and Deepa Sahi’s Nana Karte Pyar.
Ferena Wazeir speaks to The Statesman.

Rang Rasiya has a complex plot as it tries to analyse the life one of the greatest artists of our times.
It wasn’t the most of difficult of roles. I essay the role of a Parsi journalist and a socialite in the film that’s set in the nineteenth century. Getting into the character wasn’t very tough as I often meet a number of socialites in Mumbai and I often interact with journalists. Since the character is slightly on the older side, I had to make my body language a little more mature. Rang Rasiya is certainly a very relevant film for our times. What Raja Ravi Varma went through during his lifetime, people like MF Husain is going through today. There is still suppression when it comes to freedom of artists. The intolerant attitude of society is easily understood.

About your role in Sadiyaan and working with Luv Sinha…
This is a very commercial film by Raj Kanwar, who has launched many newcomers ~ Lara Dutta, Priyanka Chopra, Divya Bharati… He is now launching Shatrugan Sinha’s son. It’s a family drama and a period film. In this film I am playing a happy-go-lucky Punjabi girl. Luv’s approach to acting is very different from that of Shatrugan Sinha. He has a style of his own and has done a great job. The film was shot last year in Kashmir, Chandighar and Amritsar.

Working with Hema Malini, Rekha and Rishi Kapoor.
I was a bit nervous but they are all very wonderful people. Rekhaji is very beautiful and is helpful towards newcomers like Luv and myself. Rishi Kapoor is funny and sarcastic. Newcomers were made to feel very comfortable.

Your family is from Kashmir.
We left Kashmir when I was very young. My education was in Scotland... My parents didn’t advice me to visit some of the places we had been to earlier. When you are shooting, there is hardly time for anything else. We are from Rajouri which is up near the border. So, I couldn’t imagine my director letting me visit the place.

Moving back to India and the work atmosphere here.
It’s been wonderful in many ways and challenging in many ways. It’s a different culture. Technical teams are fine and very professional. But things take time as one has to deal with a lot of natural elements that are at play here ~ sound pollution, weather… But the good thing is, once you start dealing with problems, you become a spontaneous actor… I have studied with Alyque Padamsee and Satyadev Dubey ~ that has helped me a lot.

Danis Tanovic’s No Man’s Land…
He will soon be shooting in India. He first wanted to shoot in Pakistan but now it will be done in India. This will be more of a ‘world cinema’ kind of release, like Slumdog Millionaire.

Is there a need for casting directors in India?
Yes. The approach in India is not as professional as, say, in the USA. There’s a lot of nepotism at work. Then again, it’s a different work culture here. Fortunately things are changing and casting directors are beginning to pop up. Productions are becoming better. Watch a movie like Chak De! which had an interesting casting.

Did you watch Slumdog Millionaire?
I have read the book and wanted to see how the film turned out to be. I liked it. The film is different from the book but every director has his/her approach.

The film for the United Nations.
Fifteen directors had been chosen from around the world to make a number of short films on the eco-system. From India Pan Nalin was selected.

After returning, has the environment been bothering you?
Yes, I am suffering from sinus problems, pollution-related allergies. When I see children brought up in Scotland where the air is very clean and those brought up here, I feel sad. Pollution affects many things ~ height, health, hair growth... Also people throw away things here and there. Let’s make an effort to keep our country clean.