Kolkata: Actress Paoli Dam, who has already worked with top directors in Bengal in her three-year-long career, says she was so surprised on being offered 'Hate Story' by Vikram Bhatt that she though it was a prank call.
The actress, who walked the Cannes red carpet earlier this year for her film 'Chatrak', is foraying into mainstream Hindi cinema with the upcoming Vivek Agnihotri-directed film.
"When I took the first call from Mr Bhatt on April one with the offer for the lead role, I thought this was big April Fool prank. It took some time for the feeling to sink in. I was so happy... they are one of the biggest names in Mumbai," Paoli told PTI.
The actress, who is portraying the role of Kavya, says she is very happy with the way the role is shaping up in the woman-centric film.
"I cannot reveal much about the character, which will project me in a different look. She is a strong character and it is a big thing for me to essay such a lead in a film at this phase of my career," she said, adding that she had to
work out hard at the gym and follow a strict diet regimen for the film.
Paoli also has her feet firmly grounded in Bengal and will be seen tackling a Rabindranath Tagore character next in period drama 'Elar Char Adhyay'. She says it is one of the most excruciating and intense roles in her career.
"The shooting of 'Elar Char Adhyay' is one of the most exhausting phases of my career. There is so much intensity in that character of a rebel, free spirited woman of the 1930s.
That was emotionally very cathartic for me as well," Paoli said.
The actress, who has been part of several avant garde Bengali films including Goutam Ghosh's 'Kalbela' and 'Moner Manush', recalled how she mentally prepared herself for days for the film, a subtle delineation of human relationships set
in the Bengal of revolutionaries the 30s.
"Ela is a rebellious character, but made of different stuff - the typical Tagorean firebrand woman, fiercely independent, progressive, caught between the extremes of love and a call for the nation.
"Everyday after shooting I used to be in a state of trance as the character was so intensely cerebral, you can't do other types of roles during such a phase," she explained.
"And the dialogues, the costumes would take you to that era. I hope all our effort in Elar Char Adhyay will show and be appreciated by the audience," she said.
Asked if she had to read the novel again before enacting the role, Paoli said, "Being born and brought up in a middleclass Bengali family all of us are initiated into Tagore's works, songs, plays and poems and short stories at a
very young age. There was no exception in my case earlier."
"So while I had read Char Adhyay I had been intrigued by Ela's character. I had to read the novel again when Bappada (director Bappaditya Bandyopadhyay) chose me for the role," she said, adding her co-actors Indraneil Sengupta, Rudranil
Ghosh and debutante Bikram would also be new revelations in the film.
Paoli will also be seen in young director Mainak De's 'Bedroom' to be released in January.
"I am inhibition-free and I believe cinema is a good director's medium," Paoli said when asked about her comfort level before the camera.
"I have worked with many prominent Bengali directors since 2009, but I would love to work with Buddhadev Dasgupta among others," she said.
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