Bandit Queen's new avatar

IN TRADITIONAL white attire, Seema Biswas looks every bit a Malayali. The only shortcoming is her ignorance of Malayalam.

Yet, she studies her lines diligently and renders them flawlessly. ``She is a thorough professional'', comments Jayaraj, her director in ``Shantham''.

Success sits lightly on the actress of such acclaimed films as ``Bandit Queen'', ``Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa'', ``Samar'' and ``Khamoshi'', and plays such as ``Gandhi Virudh Gandhi''. She has not changed much from the simple-minded, straightforward and affectionate Assamese girl who studied at the National School of Drama, New Delhi, and later served at its repertory.

You still remember her as the repertory actress who took you, 14 years ago, to the Delhi Rabindra Bhavan canteen, narrating her experience of working with greats such as Ratan Tiyam and her struggles in the industry. You remember her as the actress who frequented the Doordarshan social-welfare programmes. You remember her having accompanied you to a film shoot in the Munnar hills, halting on and off to drink, in the beauty of the emerald expanse and eating from wayside shops.

Two years ago, on another visit to Kerala, she demanded to be taken to a traditional physician. Knowing the place well, she moved around as if she were just another local resident. And did not expect in the least to be recognised. But, once she stepped out of the hotel she stayed in, people started waving. ``Hey, here is Phoolan Devi,'' they cried.

After completing Amol Palekar's ``Kal Ka Aadmi'' on a Marathi social reformer, Kumar's ``Ghav'' (in which she is acting with Om Puri, Milind Gunaji and Mita Vashisht) and Adeep Singh's ``Akshamya'' (with Rahul Dev and Namrata Shirodkar), she took a nine-month break recently to do an Assamese stage version of Phoolan Devi's life. ``It was an out-and-out commercial venture, garishly mounted. I accepted the offer because the pay was handsome and I needed a break from the everyday Mumbai grind. I enjoyed touring the whole of Assam, playing to thousands every night. We also did a comedy, ``Banjui''.

She is a good comedienne. Kamal Hassan, before casting her in ``Ladies Only'', asked Shekhar Kapur, ``Is your actress good in comedy?'' Kapur smiled, ``I selected her for `Bandit Queen' after seeing a breathtaking performance of hers in a comedy.''She plans to do two more plays, in one of which she will team up with Shekhar Suman and Nandita Das.

How does she find Mumbai? ``It is good for work'', she says. ``Life is so fast there that it is surprising that people find time to breathe.''

Her idea of a perfect life is to ``do a lot of good films and plays, and take occasional breaks to enjoy the pure Assam air.''

K. S.

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