She has been away from Bollywood for quite some time but for actress Raveena Tandon it was not a tough call to play a negative role in Onir’s upcoming romantic film Shab.
Tandon, 41, who is making a comeback to films after three years, said she wanted a challenging role to make her return to Bollywood.
“I really wanted to do something challenging and fun. I opted for Shab because Onir is a dear friend and the character which I am playing in the film is something which I didn’t do earlier.
“It’s a role of a diva but has shades of grey in it and in the film I walk through a very thin line between positive and negative. Onir gave me the other role first but I wanted this role because I have not played such a character before. I was more excited to play the negative part,” Tandon said.
Shab, a Delhi set drama, is a love triangle and stars Prosenjit Chatterjee’s wife Arpita and Ashish Bisht, both are making their Bollywood debut.
Sanjay Suri and designer Wendell Rodricks are making guest appearances in the film.
Tandon said she was always the first choice for Shab, which Onir wrote almost 14 years ago when he was assisting Kalpana Lajmi in Daman. The 2001 film starred Tandon and Suri. She won a national award for playing a tortured wife in the film.
“Onir directed us in Daman because Kalpana fell ill for a long time during the shooting of the film. Onir discussed the idea during that time with me and wanted to start up the project in a year or two. I got pregnant in 2004 and film went to the back burner,” she said.
Tandon, 39, who has two children with husband Anil Thadani and two adopted children, has done only a handful of films since her marriage.
Her last film, Shobhana 7 Nights, which was considered as her comeback to Bollywood after pregnancy, is yet to have a box-office release.
“Shobhana 7 Nights was a festival film. I won best actress award in Chicago film festival. It was a great learning experience for me. I don’t think the film is meant for the box office,” she said.
