The actress speaks about her switch from Marathi cinema to Bollywood
Establishing a name in Marathi cinema with big time hits like ‘Natarang’, ‘Ajintha’ and ‘Gauri’, actress Sonalee Kulkarni enters the Bollywood with ‘Grand Masti’. Talking about the switch and whether she is apprehensive about her image by associating herself with an adult comedy, as her debut, the actress vocally clarifies everything.
Talking about how the switch happened, she reveals, “I was on the verge of the release of my Marathi film when the producer saw the poster of my film and they remembered my work in ‘Natarang’ which director Indra Kumarji had really liked and then they approached me.”
Regarding the film she had a lot to speak about as she said, “I did want to work with commercial actors. I think it’s important what brand you are associated with. This is a crazy comedy, mad ‘masala’ entertainer that reaches out to the mass audiences. I had seen ‘Masti’ so I knew what it was all about,” and further added, “It’s songs like ‘Dil De Diya Hai’, etc are still evergreen and I have even heard it after 8-9 years of its release. But this is not a sequel but a franchise while the ‘masti’ gets bigger and better.”
On her character in the film, she reveals that she is playing Riteish Deshmukh’s wife and shares, “I am playing a very innocent character in the film. I play Riteish’s wife. She is so involved with her life and home with their son, Pappu who creates such a mess in the film and their lives. While her husband has no stand, which is why he goes and does such wrong things later.” As with Riteish, she shared a wonderful rapport as they both come from Marathi background. “Believe me Riteish is way more than what you see him onscreen. In fact, he and the other two are two times more awesome. Riteish has awesome comic timing and is a very intelligent actor. He has a funny sense of humor and helped me do a better job!” said the actress.
We wonder what was Genelia’s reaction to this is, to which she replied, “Yes, their respective real wives were also there while they used to monitor us. On a serious note, they would gang up with us and we would do a lot of ‘masti’. Genelia has been a part of the ‘Masti’ team, so she knew how it like is. Plus she would also guide me when needed.”
Along with Sonalee, we have five other new sizzling faces in the film so when asked about the competition or hassles on sets she said, “We got along very well. All the characters are well defined, so there is no room for comparison or similarities and surely there weren’t any catfights at all!” and added, “All the girls have been here before, but I’m relatively a newcomer to Bollywood. So, it’s about getting the right opportunities and leaves the rest to destiny. Images are not made with one film, rather your work is recognized in the more films that you do.”
Regarding the film being so bold, she clarifies, “It’s a double meaning film set in the most innocent way. It depends on how you interpret it; I don’t think we are misguiding the young audiences because the youngsters’ talk like these days with text etc. We were shocked to see and hear the kinds of real life jokes when we went for promotions in colleges. So, this
is the right kind of film especially for them.”
As for the release she awaits the day and says, “I am excited and curious but not nervous for I’m not the producer of the film. But yes, let’s see what happens because your first film only comes once.”
Set to release on September 13, 2013, ‘Grand Masti’ stars Vivek Oberoi, Aftab Shivdasani and Riteish Deshmukh as main leads with Bruna Abdullah, Karishma Tanna, Sonalee Kulkarni, Kainaat Arora, Maryam Zakaria and Manjari Fadnis.
Noel Singh Dias
