‘Struggle’ over as Dastur seen to have the X-factor

Amyra Dastur

Amyra Dastur

Published Apr 20, 2015

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Mr. X , which opened on Friday, sees actress Amyra Dastur back on the big screen in Bolly. She chats to Bollywood Hungama’s Satish Sundaresan.

Why such a long gap after Issaq? Were you waiting for a particular opportunity or were you involved in other projects?

After Issaq, my film with Dhanush required 120 days of my time, which kept me busy for a long time. After that, I was shooting Mr. X.

How did you bag the role of Siya Varma in Mr. X?

After the trailers of Issaq came out, many people started noticing me. But, after the movie was released, the film’s producer, Jayantilal Gada, told me that Mukeshji (Mukesh Bhatt) had enquired about my acting potential. He told me to keep my phone free as I might get a call anytime from Mukeshji. Within just 20 minutes of him telling me this, Mukeshji called and asked me to come to his office the next day.

When I went there, he narrated me a film script, in which Emraan Hashmi was the hero. He added that, even though he liked me, I’d be selected for the role only if Vikram Bhatt liked me. And when Vikram saw me, he spoke to me for a while and narrated the full script. At last, he said that I’d be the perfect choice. I can’t tell you how excited I was!

What was your reaction when you were told that you would be doing the film?

I was very happy about the film as it had no sexual element in it, which was my main concern. The reason being that I am just 21 years old and I stay with my parents. They wanted me to wear a bikini, but I told them that I can’t. The result was that I wore a one- piece red swimming costume. I was very happy with my character in the film, because my character is totally opposite to what I did in Issaq. I did not want to get typecast.

You mean to say that you are not comfortable wearing a bikini? Not yet. I am not the type of girl who will openly come out with an overtly sexy image.

How did you react when you learnt that you would be doing a film with an invisible hero?

I was excited. At the same time, I was very concerned about how they would pull it off. Even in the song Tu Jo Hai, where I am ‘romancing’ Emraan underwater, the fact was that there was no one at all! I was making out with nothing, under water! I had to pretend that there was Emraan in front of me. Let me also add that, the end results are simply unbelievable!

Elaborate on your role in Mr. X.

I am the reason Emraan does the things that he does and why he becomes the bad guy that he becomes. The film shows us in love with each other initially, and then, something happens and she wants to hunt him down.

How was working with the Bhatts and Emraan?

Even though the feeling was really awesome to work with the Bhatts, I still become nervous. On the set, no one treated me like a newcomer and everyone made me feel very accepted.

From your modelling days to Bollywood, how would you describe your journey?

I would like to sum it up in just two words: ‘a struggle’. Before Issaq happened, I was getting rejected left, right and centre. After Issaq, life changed and how! I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

Did you ever fear getting ignored amid Emraan’s superstardom?

Emraan has been in the industry for almost a decade now. He is worthy of all the adulation, attention and respect that he gets. Never did I have the feeling of being ignored amid Emraan’s stardom. On the contrary, they (Bhatts and Emraan) gave all the attention to me. About Emraan, let me tell you that he is a very cool person.

Having acted in South Indian films, how do you deal with linguistic issues?

I have always been a good ‘student’. I tell the respective film-makers to tell me the lines, which I write idown in Hindi and learn.

To whom do you credit your career success?

Undoubtedly, my mother! She is someone who has genuinely supported me from the very beginning. Whenever I used to come home from a bad audition, she was there to hold my hand. Trust me, her words meant the heavens to me and they used to propel me to always do better in life. – bollywoodhungama.com

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