Powerhouse of talent

Aiming High

She is the next Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi of the film industry according to Mahesh Bhatt. But for Shahana Goswami, these expectations are a reason to work all the more hard. In the City to promote her forthcoming film Jashnn, the dusky beauty spoke to Metrolife on her role in Jashnn, her other projects and of course, Milind Soman.

“I just love Bangalore,” she smiles. “I have come here so many times and the weather is just amazing.” She felt surreal when Mahesh compared her to Smita and Shabana. “He is one of the reasons for them being who they are so I am extremely honoured.”

Full of praises for the ace director, she says, “He makes every actor realise his or her potential. I pushed myself harder only because of him.”

She remembers the time when Mahesh Bhatt would explain the scenes of the filmto her.

"He would come, hold my hand and explain the scene and go away. So we would be full of emotions that we couldn’t control it. Most of the times, we didn’t need glycerine to cry. ”

She adds, “He made us touch the side that we weren’t aware of.”

She has high expectations from Jashnn, in which she plays Adhyayan Suman’s sister.

 “It’s a journey of a boy, who finds his identity through the barriers of life. It’s all about self-discovery of both the boy and his sister.” Didn’t Shahana say that she is the only link between Rock On and Jashnn? She laughs out loud, “Yes I did but that was just to lighten the mood.” But she feels both the movies are different, even though they are about music.

Shahana made an unconventional debut in the industry, with a small but pivotal role in Naseeruddin Shah’s Yun Hota To Kya Hota. She went on to play yet another small but appreciated role in Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd. Then of course, Rock On followed and she became everybody’s favourite.

Will she ever turn towards hard-core commercial cinema? “I do want to break out,” she agrees. “It’s boring to do similar roles all the time. It’s important to balance it all out and come out of your comfort zone.” She speaks about her interaction with Shabana Azmi during the shooting of Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd, in which she played Shabana’s daughter. “My entire schedule was with her. She spoke a lot about Mahesh, and I complimented her for her role in his film Arth.”

What is Shahana’s dream role? “It would be something like Umrao Jaan, which requires and showcases everything from acting to dancing,” she answers.

She was even a part of international popstar Dido’s recent song Let’s Do The Things We Normally Do. “But I didn’t interact with Dido at all,” she says sadly. “But I heard she said that I look really beautiful in the video,” she blushes. Her forthcoming releases are Tera Kya Hoga Johnny and Mirch.

The lady has also been in the news for dating the hot supermodel Milind Soman. Any plans of tying the knot?

“Why does every body ask me this question?” she laughs. “Yes, we have been seeing each other for a few months now and are in a serious relationship. I am extremely happy but we have no plans of marriage as of now,” she says.