Shreya Narayan

Bihari  belle Shreya Narayan is  the great grand-niece of the country’s first President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad. Her father  is a lawyer and principal of a Law college, and her   mother was a History teacher, her  sister  has a Masters from London School of Economics. From Muzzafarnagar to Mumbai has been an arduous journey but in many ways an eye-opener for Shreya who made her mark as Mahuaa in Sahib. Biwi Aur Gangster, Tanu Weds Manu,Rockstar and most recently Super Nani…The outspoken and candid Shreya in a tete-a-tete…..

Considering your family is academically inclined, you must have faced hurdles …did acting happen by chance?

Acting happened as a quest to explore what I really wanted to do. I too was academically inclined, and indeed had only studied since childhood, and did not know if I was good at anything else. But I felt dissatisfied and inhibited. Theatre came as an outlet to get in touch with my feelings and also gave me a freedom to be any person I wanted to be with eclectic characters to play and explore. Suddenly a new world had opened to me, and I wanted to be a part of it!

The first few years are always a period of struggle for many aspirants—what kept you going?

Hope and belief and a whole lot of signs kept me going. I worked hard….and people, circumstances and life helped me. Whenever I felt I was done with things, something came along to tell me that I had to continue. Innumerable times, I felt disillusioned, defeated, foolish and useless….but those who believed in me kept my spirits up. I do not know if I should have kept on pursuing this very difficult path…but I did…and all I can say is that there were so many signs that I should.

Do you really think being a doctor/engineer…for that matter even an actress  is a life of roses?

Life can never be a bed of roses. Because we are not just our profession…we are a whole lot more. We are relationships, we are individuals, we are business partners, we are dreams…and last but not the least, we are mere humans, puppets in the hands of a higher force with no control over how life will pan out. When we say that a doctor or an engineer has a surer job than an actor, we as humans are just trying to exert a little bit control over our lives. But frankly, it comes to naught. Life is led as a human soul, and how easy our journeys would be depends solely on God’s plans.

But roses stand for life, beauty and thorns. So even on the worst days…. life with all its beauty and thorns is worth living!

You were well accepted in the South and got many offers. Many from Bollywood have actually made it big in South films, the money is good and the scene is more professional--Why did you not consider doing more films there?

I was new. I did not understand the language and did not know anyone in the South. I had merely taken auditions and gone to work. I was not happy working with the people I did. I understand that one has to find people with similar vision in order to enjoy the process of film-making…… I am open to working in the South, there are so many film-makers I admire. Alas, as a new-comer I did not know them so thought that better to be safe than sorry!

Sahib, Biwi  Aur Gangster ---was that a turning point for your career?

Yes, a girl like me who got work taking auditions….and we all know that lead roles do not come through auditions….well for me to get one of the leading roles in a Tigmanshu Dhulia film was a great achievement. That the film fared well only added to things.

Late Shammi Kapoor, Ranbir Japoor , Imtiaz Ali …Rockstar  won many awards, what were your experiences during the making of the film?

Well, working with Imtiaz gave me a peek into how he thinks. He is very democratic while directing a scene----he likes to know how each actor sees his character in a scene, or what does the actor intend to do, and then manoeuvers them towards his vision by smart and enlightening inputs. This is how we work in theatre and working with him was like going back to the roots. His special touch is the ability to bring humour or yet another layer in a very subtle manner to the original scene on paper.  Ranbir is an accommodating and generous co-actor. Unfortunately, I did not have any scenes with Shammi Kapoor.  

Tell us about Super Nani….your role, your interaction with Rekha  and any interesting anecdote.

Super Nani  is Rekhaji’s film. She plays the elder matriarch of the family whose husband and children do not give her the respect and attention she deserves. She then proves herself professionally at her age, thereby telling her family not to take her love and attention for granted. I played her loud-mouthed bahu who is useless around the house. She wants to become an actor and all her concentration is on that only…but the problem is that she cannot act…and thus hilarious situations arise out of her inability to act. I am the comedy queen in the film!

Super Nani was shot when I was not working on any other project. My mother was suffering from cancer, and we were mostly in hospitals. Rekhaji, as an elder, having lived and experienced a vast life, gave me perspective on what I was going through and how to understand life. She asked me to pray and have faith. These helped me.

Do you feel that having a *Godfather* / filmi  lineage helps making it in Bollywood?

Absolutely! Bollywood works on connections.

What are your forthcoming projects?

I am returning to work after a gap after my mother’s illness and subsequent passing away. I will start with Tigmanshu Dhulia’s film Yaraa.

Apart from films what are your interests?

I like to read. I like to think. I like to pray. And as life is showing me much…I like to write too.

You have mentioned  that “ men like you and want you, but at the end of the day, they don’t want to share you even with acting”…. You  seem to be fiercely independent…what kind of a man would you like in your life?

I feel men like to own things…cars, bikes, companies and wives. I want a partner who realizes that I am a human being first, and a gender much later. I have my own dreams and my own individual voice even as I have a lot of love to give and a life to share. To box another individual and set limits to their lives just because they are girls is to see them as commodities. I would not like that. I want a man who will know that if he partners a life with me it will be filled with love and loyalty. But he has to be my partner. I do not need to be stamped as someone’s wife and told how to be. My impeccable education and pedigree has taught me the best. He just needs to flow with me in love.