Kashmira Irani: For me, the length of the role doesn’t matter

Variety is something that every artiste craves for, but not everyone has the courage to walk the path less-trodden. That’s what makes actress Kashmira Irani an exception. She marked her television debut with 'Amber Dhara' (2007-2008) in which she played Amber, a conjoined twin. Her last small-screen outing, '

Dosti

... Yaariyan... Manmarziyan' (2015) featured her as a layered urban girl.

Kashmira says that she likes being challenged as an artiste, the reason why she is selective about work. Ask her if she would ever play a quintessential bahu and she replies, “I have never played the typical bahu, nor have I been offered such a role. I can't be part of run-of-the-mill projects, and want something that excites me as an artiste. I have nothing against people who do these kind of shows, as it requires a lot of hard work. Having said that, I don’t mind playing a sari-clad bahu if the character and story resonate with me. Money is important, but so is creative satisfaction. Lead or no lead, my character needs to have some purpose.”

While bahus are okay, she has her reservations about associating with supernatural thrillers. The actress elaborates, “I love watching

supernatural thrillers

and horror shows, but I don’t think that I can be part of one. I won’t be able to do justice to it, as we are living in a very different world from what’s shown on TV.”

Kashmira, who took a break from TV and was busy with her play Zangoora for around four years, will soon be seen in the upcoming film, 'Bharat'. She had played a nurse in the Salman Khan-starrer, 'Tiger Zinda Hai' (TZH, 2017), and in 'Bharat', she will be seen as his sister. She says, “In TZH, I didn’t get an opportunity to work with Salman, as I had no scenes with him. Despite having years of experience, his dedication to work is inspiring. Also, he is extremely professional and humble. I had butterflies in my stomach when I shot with him on day one, but he was so relaxed on the set that I fed off that energy.”

While she has always played central characters on TV, she has been seen in small parts in films. However, Kashmira has no qualms about it. She shares, “For me, the length of the role doesn’t matter. Of course, you always aspire to play the lead character, and even I used to think about it initially, but now, I just focus on my work. The more you work, the better you get. The fact is that you will get noticed if you are good. I have to do justice to my work, everything else is a byproduct.”