‘To act well, you need to know what you’re saying’

Quite a few Bollywood heroines have made their mark in south Indian industries. One such heroine, who has won hearts in all south Indian languages, is Mishti.

“I like the south industries mainly for their fans; they are crazy about cinema,” says the Bengali actor. “I believe that Bollywood heroines are loved in south Indian movies not only for their sensuality or good looks, but for the warmth evident on their faces.”

She is busy shooting for an ambitious Hindi project, the details of which she cannot reveal right now, and she also has a line-up of releases and is currently in talks for two Telugu films. “Apart from that my short film with KK Menon has been selected for an award,” says Mishti.

This year is ending on a happy note for the actor, with her Malayalam film Adam Joan with Prithviraj doing well at the box office. In 2018, she will star in a Kannada film Bruhaspati made under Rockline Productions and starring Manoranjan, and she also looks forward to the release of her Tamil film with Atharva and a Telugu film with a newcomer.

Mishti picked Bruhaspati, a remake of the Tamil hit VIP, for her Kannada debut because she is a Dhanush fan (he played the lead in the original). “That apart, I did a bit of research on Kannada industry and learnt that Nanda Kishore sir is a big director,” she says. “Manoranjan was a very good co-star and he helped me get my dialogues right, since the language is completely new to me. The only hitch was the hectic shoot that allowed only few hours of sleep, but it was a learning experience,” she adds.

In Bruhaspati, Mishti will play a girl next door, a role she is keen on playing. “Cinema has been evolving over the past few years and glamour to me is looking good in the character you play. Clothes don’t decide how glamourous you are, it is decided by how you carry yourself,” she says.

The actor looks forward to working in films that give prominence to their heroines too. “I want to be the hero of a film,” says Mishti, who is trying to imrpove her fluency in Telugu and Tamil, and also get a hold on Kannada and Malayalam. “I find Tamil a little difficult, but I was able to learn it over time,” she says.

“I am extremely happy to be working with the right kind of directors who are helping me build my confidence. I prefer to read the lines and understand the meaning of every word because to act right, you need to know what you are saying,” she adds.