Interview: Shreya Narayan

By: Sima Malhotra

There is very little Shreya Narayan will not do, so long as it helps move her career along in the most substantive way possible. While she may be reserved as a person, professionally speaking, she believes she has to put all fears aside and be willing to do what is reasonable to establish herself as a top-notch actress who would be remembered generations over.

While talk is cheap, just what, exactly, is Narayan willing to do beyond utter such cliché words and phrases about the prospects of her career growth? Well, she told the press, over the weekend, that she was willing to be bold and cited specific examples of what she thinks she could pull off in a classy way while still advancing her acting career.

“As Shreya Narayan, I have inhibitions in real life, though, as an actor, I do not have inhibitions,” she told the press as she promoted Kuchh Kariye last week. “If I play a prostitute, I’d be ready to titillate a part of the character. If I play a diva or a swimmer, I’d be game to appear in a two-piece bikini too, because I like to be true to my character. For me, body is just another vehicle of an actor.”

Such confident words uttered by Narayan, but it took the actress a while to be secure enough to be able to have such a mature mentality about her profession. After months of self-inspection and soul-searching, Narayan finally overcame many of her fears. Now she feels she has a decent grasp on what she has to do to both move up through the cinematic ranks and how to maintain herself once she plateaus as an actress.

“In the first few years after I came from Delhi, I would not even go to meet people because I was scared of the casting couch. The more confident I became of myself, the more I lost my fears because I came to know myself,” she humbly told reporters. “I worked a lot on my mind and insecurities. It helps me that I have a mind of my own and am assertive. I do not get frazzled in front of people because I cannot be made to feel lesser. I have been a loner but never lonely.”

Understanding the importance of assertiveness, confidence and no inhibitions, Narayan also said she believes image takes a back seat to maintaining qualitative acting chops and good health.

“As an actress, your job is very demanding and hence you have to be fit. I am fit, but I feel that a woman with a little meat will look better any day,” she frankly told reporters. “It is sad that all rules are meant only for women. You find all kinds of actors, but poor actresses have to abide by the image of what a heroine is.”

Narayan went on to add there is more to acting than physical attraction, but in order for an actress to be seen for more than who she is on the outside, female thespians have to pull out all the stops to prove their true talents – and while difficult, such a task of proving oneself as a talented actress is not at all impossible.

“Though I do not think beauty is a criterion to be an actress, I know that (until) you get many opportunities here, even talent isn’t considered important,” Narayan humbly point out to the press. “You learn through awareness from life. I learned that acting isn’t elusive and you can learn it, even if it isn’t in your blood.”

Jumping through hurdles is commonplace, regardless of whether someone is trying to make it in Bollywood, Hollywood, or any other film industry in the world, Narayan says. To that end, she thinks a thespian’s feet will always be put to the fire to prove their dedication; ergo the cost of fame is a pretty high one, yet it is a price all actors must be willing to pay in order to achieve any level of success in any film industry.

“Fame is the test you have to pass. (Until) you become famous, you will continue to be humiliated,” she pointed out. “After you become famous, you will be judged. Hence, it is difficult for me to be in a comfort zone as an actor because people will always test you to know what kind of a person you are and what kind of milieu you come from. They think you are easily available if you are an actress.”

Still, despite the rigid (and risky) process of rising through the ranks in Bollywood, Narayan also said it was important to let one’s hair loose as well. After all, in a field defined by freedom of creativity, an actor’s professional growth would be stifled if they were not spontaneous enough to try new things and instead always stick to formula.

In fact, Narayan herself took a spontaneous risk in defying her parents to seek riches as an actress, and the risk appears to be paying off.

“What one does spontaneously is more important than following the diktats of the traditions and rituals. I confess that though I did my education as per my parents’ desire, I became a rebel and told my parents that I wanted to be an actress,” she notably informed the press. “I am glad I was lucky to have gotten an opportunity to pursue what I wanted to.”

Hopefully audiences will be just as happy and fortunate of Narayan’s decision when they watch her in this week’s release of Kuchh Kariye, which hits movie screens worldwide on April 23rd.