You can't afford to ignore me: Sharbani Mukherjee

There's something about Sharbani Mukherjee that makes you cautious about asking questions from her. The soft-spoken girl with an in-your-face attitude knows what she wants to speak and doesn't utter a word beyond that. Sharbani plays the role of Kasturi in Mazhar Kamran's debut film Mohandas.

"Though I am playing the role of Mohandas's wife, you cannot ignore my performance. It's a strong character that is important to the film."

The actress is all praise for the director's vision and clarity. "Nakul is lucky to get the author-backed role in Mazhar Kamran's movie, as he has shot the film beautifully. I wish Mazhar gives me the tile role in his next film"

"It is a completely deglam or no make-up role. We have shot the film in some beautiful locations. Filmmakers should explore more such location in India," adds the actress.

Though Sharbani Mukherjee considers herself a spontaneous actor; she did a lot of research for her role in Mohandas. The actress keenly observed Sonbhadra district in Madhya Pradesh, where the shooting took place.

"The authenticity of the place really helps. I observed the ladies in the village and followed their lingo. Also a rural person emotes differently from a city person. It was like living your character and not just playing it. It took me a long time to break away from the character of Kasturi after the shooting wrapped up."

The actress feels that characters like Kasturi are rarely seen on celluloid. "That Indian feel is missing in the woman characters. Indian women can take a lot and have immense strength. They are bold yet innocent. There are many shades to Indian women."

Sharbani Mukherjee is clear about the kind of films she wants to do and does not take up a role until it excites her. "I didn't want to do every film that came my way. I wanted to complete my studies. I don't want to limit myself to just one aspect of cinema; I want to explore other aspects too. I may possibly direct a film in future."

Mohandas, apart from being screened at Osian's film festival would be shown in other film festivals across the world and the actress is quite upbeat about it. "Because of my family background, I've always been a movie buff. Mohandas gave me a platform to enter the film festival scene. It's so good to know that people would see my film in a film festival."

The actress is not at all worried about the reactions of people, as she knows she can't be ignored. "You cannot afford to ignore me. I will haunt you with my performance," she declares.

Adds the actress; "If people still remember me as Border girl, it means there is something in me. People still remember me in Ghar Aaja Soniya video. I learnt sign language for playing a dumb and deaf girl in the video. It was like a short film."