Mahima Calls the Shots

IT was an unusual sight that greeted us at the FTII. Mahima Choudhari, sat quietly in a corner catching a bite and talking cinema with FTII legends. She was surely difficult to spot with her low-key entry and an equally humble exit.
But this did not deter PT from engaging the charming lady in conversation. For a non-alumni, she did feel the void of not being part of this institute.“Today I feel, I should have studied cinema from an institute like this. It would have been easier for me to perform, adjust and simply get good work! My modelling background always made directors shy away in the initial years and it took me six long years to start understanding cinema as a medium,� relents Mahima.
An Economics graduate from Delhi, Mahima’s life before films was a sheltered one. “I’ve studied in a Convent at Dehradun. We would visit the nearby town only once a week, otherwise it was just the sisters, Mother Superior and we girls,� she smiles.
That, till Pardes happened. Says she, “Working with such a huge team was a challenge. When I started acting, I always felt judged and threatened which was uncomfortable. Today, only after a spate of films I have started enjoying even the routine song-n-dance sequences, which is why I manage to surprise myself sometimes,� she says, remembering her inspired performance in Dhadkan.
Barring exceptions of Pardes, Dhadkan and Daag The Fire, Mahima’s career graph has not always been upswing. “Work has given me immense satisfaction. Many people don’t know that I can talk more fluently in Nepali and Bengali than perhaps in Hindi. I would love to work in regional films,� asserts Mahima, “Unfortunately it’s not an actress’s choice.�
How does she strike the perfect balance between professional and personal life, considering she dropped all her commitments and left producers in the lurch, to be with Leander Paes. She adds, “Personal life can’t affect my professional life. To tell you a secret, I have a diary full of ideas to make films on. May be some day, I would rediscover myself as a screenplay-writer or director - For once, it will be me who calls the shots!�
harvari.joshi@timesgroup.com