Girl who dared to dream big

She has a soaring musical graph and an impressive acting career to her credit. She is Vasundhara Das, the Punjabi `bride' in Mira Nair's much talked about `Monsoon Wedding'. LAKSHMI BALAKRISHNAN meets her to know more about her dreams....

``I am pretty much a risk taker....''

Confusion. That's the first thing that hits you when you sit down to write about this South Indian beauty. Do you write about the young, unsure but valiant girl who simply landed in Chennai one fine day to carve out a career in music, or do you talk about the fresh graduate from Bangalore who went to Chennai to become a singer and later returned home, only to get a call from Kamal Haasan's office for a role in his prestigious film ``Hey Ram''?

Either way, this is eventually the story of Vasundhara Das, who dared to dream big, believed in her ability and in the end managed to get more than what she had bargained for.

``I am pretty much a risk taker,'' she smilingly admits, adding in the same breath that she is ready to take chances, be it her soaring musical graph or her unplanned but still impressive acting career.

She is probably the most talked about Punjabi `bride' in town at present. And Vasundhara is ready for the audience verdict on ``Monsoon Wedding'' which will see her play the bride Adity. ``I guess the best thing about the film is that its truthful. These kind of films don't happen too often here. It also makes one realise the need for a more open Indian society. Parents need to understand the importance of discussing things with their children,'' the actress believes.

As for playing the Punjabi `kudi', Vasundhara says, ``I was born and brought up in Bangalore, so it was not as if the whole idea of a Punjabi wedding was alien to me. But yes, I did have to work a bit on understanding the intricacies of the culture. In any case, the role was not of a plain Hindi speaking girl in any case,'' she says.

And for those who don't know, Vasundhara is doing well down South too. Her last release in Tamil ``Citizen'' was a hit, while her latest Malayalam release ``Ravana Prabhu'' received both critical acclaim as well as commercial success. Trying to juggle between her acting and singing careers, Vasundhara does not hide her disappointment at the lukewarm response to her album ``Meri Jaan''.

``I think we went wrong with the marketing. But then I was sure that my album would not be the run of the mill kinds, that it would be different,'' says Vasundhara, who has been learning Hindustnai classical from the age of ten.

But things are looking brighter on the playback singing front for this talented singer. Not many here may really recognise the husky voice yet, but the singer has been dominating the music charts for months now -- first with her English addition to the much liked ``Ori Chori'' song from ``Lagaan'' and then the ``Rabba'' number from ``Aks'' and ``Shakalaka Baby'' from the Anil Kapoor starrer ``Nayak''.

Ask her the language she is most comfortable singing and acting in and she sets off thinking. ``I guess I am comfortable in all languages. In ``Monsoon Wedding'', we would often stray from the original lines simply because we were more comfortable in English, but then we all had to stick to Hindi when it was required,'' she reveals.

For someone who managed to grab the attention of critics right in her debut film ``Hey Ram'' despite the presence of actors like Kamal Haasan and Rani Mukherjee, Vasundhara says she likes to prepare for her roles.

``In ``Hey Ram'', my role was that of an innocent but intelligent conventional Iyengar bride. Being an Iyengar myself, I did not really have to work on the character's background. But ``Monsoon Wedding'' was different. The fortnight long workshop conducted by Naseeruddin Shah before the shooting really helped,'' she adds, flashing a confident smile that seems to hint at the advent of `spring' for her.

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