When 20-year-old Shahana Goswami made her debut in the Naseeruddin Shah directed Yun Hota Toh Kya Hota in 2006 and went on to act in Honeymoon Travels Private Limited and Rock On, she seemed to be the new kid on the block. She even had a part in the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Ra.One and then she disappeared. Now, she is back in the spotlight again with three back to back TV shows – A Suitable Boy, Bombay Begums and The Last Hour.
“I have had a few of my films online now which have been watched. Someone who watched Midnight’s Children searched for my other work, and online platforms have allowed access to films that were not in a film library. Often we had to wait for a film to come on TV or DVD after it had hit the theatres. But the OTT platforms allow a lot more and quicker access. As an audience, I can also discover a new filmmaker whose work I can look up. But then there are a lot of films that I have done which never came out in India and never released online and which can never be seen,” Shahana sighs.
She had moved out of the country for around eight years due to her wanderlust and the love for better roles leading to one wondering where this talent had vanished. “There was a time when I was not getting the kind of roles I wanted to do. And then I wanted to travel around the world. I had never lived abroad. So I was working in films like Midnight’s Children, Under Construction and Force of Destiny, among others. I also did a film like You Are My Sunday during my stay abroad. It was a new experience for me shooting for these international films and then going to promote them at various film festivals where they were screened,” explains Shahana.
The actress now has to return to the arclights with a role in Kanu Bahl’s film with Manoj Bajpayee. “I have a short role in the film. I have shot for a day. But I have a few more days of shooting left which will happen then. Things are fine. I have done a few short films as well,” Shahana concludes.
