Vulgar and unabashed exposure is not my cup of tea
     - Uvika Chaudhary

From SRK to Sikandar to Sharman and Vatsal, she has acted with them all. Cute and petite Uvika Choudhary talks to Jyothi Venkatesh about her celluloid journey in a candid telephonic chat, a day after the release of Toh Baat Pakki

Excerpts:

Q: Would you say that you got your break on a silver platter and you did not have to struggle at all?
A: I was lucky I got the opportunities. While struggling, if you are lucky, you do not feel you have struggled. Considering the fact that I do not have any relative in the film industry, I think I have managed to do whatever I could do in the limited space that I have got.

Q: Did you always want to be an actor?
A: As a child, I used to love greasepaint and dress up and act. I used to get fascinated watching actors fondly called nautanki by my family, I grew up as a tiny tot to become a model and actor. I was selected for Zee Cine Stars Ki Khoj. After playing the heroine Dolly opposite SRK in Om Shanti Om, I graduated to playing a doctor in Summer 2007 and then Tabu’s kid sister Nisha in Toh Baat Pakki opposite Sharman Joshi and Vatsal Seth.

Q: How did you get into Zee Cinestars Ki Khoj?
A: I hail from Delhi. I was doing a course in fashion designing. Zee people met me and asked me if I am interested.  And I asked them to talk to my parents. They did and I got into it and won the Best Face of the Year award as well. A stint in modeling followed.

Q: How did you get the role in Om Shanti Om?
A: Farha had seen me perform in Zee Cinestars Ki Khoj. She called me to do the role. I didn’t even ask the story. I said yes. If Farha had me in mind, it will be good!

Q: How was it working with SRK and Farha and the other co-stars?
A: Since I was anyway Farha’s choice, she always made me comfortable on the sets. I never felt like a newcomer. She was patient with me even in my retakes. She is a darling. And Shah Rukh was as supportive. There was a time when in a scene my gown ripped from the back. The gentleman that he was, he held it together, got a girl to take me in. It was a very nice, warm and respectful experience.

Q: Do you feel that you where ignored after Om Shanti Om?
A: I do not feel that I have been ignored after Om Ashanti Om. Considering that I did not even think that I will be noticed in Om Shanti Om, as Dolly, I have absolutely no regret that I made my debut with Om Shanti Om. I do not want to compare myself with any other actress, because I am practical and feel that every actor has his or her own space.

Q: What did you learn from Tabu?
A: I learnt from Tabu that you should be grounded and not let success go to your head in spite of being a big star and continue to remain the same even if you become big. It was not scary to work with a versatile actor like Tabu. Tabu was a thorough professional actor who used to give me space and comfort to perform. The film also got me a sister in Tabu. She and I bonded so well after the film that today, I look up to her as my guiding light.

Q: To whom do you depend as an actor?
A: I am completely a director’s actress. I am of the opinion that it is the director who is the captain of the ship. I have been lucky enough to have had good directors casting me in their films, including Farah Khan and Kedar Shinde, who has to his credit quite a few Marathi films.

Q: Will Uvika ever expose?
A: I want to get into the slot of good actresses and not seek short cut to success by display of my assets. Vulgar and unabashed exposure is not my cup of tea. What is important is that people should like you and your performance in your film and not just lust after you.

Q: What next?
A: I have two projects that I am considering at the moment.