Geetika Vidya Ohlyan’s theatrical voyage began at University of Delhi KM College. Here, she was introduced to what she calls ‘Drama in Life’ by Keval Arora at the college theatre society The Players. Trotting ahead on her journey as a student, she acted, directed and wrote scripts for the street and the stage. Thespian at heart, she performed more than 300 shows as an actor for Zangoora, India’s first Bollywood Musical. This was followed by the big breakthrough when she was selected for the movie ‘Soni’. In a freewheeling chat with Arindam Ganguly of Orissa POST, she talked about her experience in ‘Soni’ and future goals.
- Q) You received rave reviews for your performance in ‘Soni’. Who do you think deserves credit for your brilliant portrayal of the protagonist?
- A) For any person to shine in a movie, it requires the contribution of many people. Director’s vision, cameraman’s shot and right sound effect all play a crucial role in the movie. Hence, I would say that everyone associated with the movie deserves credit.
- Q) What inspired you to choose such a challenging role?
- A) Quite a few people have asked me the reason for choosing the role. When I read the script I was confident that I can play the role. It got easier for me as the movie was based in Delhi. As an actor, I had to put my limitations aside. I was a medium through which the story was told and I am glad that the makers chose me. We conducted workshops and had spent couple of weeks at police stations in Delhi to observe policewomen as well as their male colleagues. We also spoke to them about their life beyond work.
- Q) Soni is a women-centric movie directed by a man (Ivan Ayr). What do you think about that?
- A) If matured enough, a woman can understand a man perfectly and vice versa. The movie is Ivan’s brainchild. He started working on the script since 2014. That gave him a lot of time to create all the characters.
A still from the film “Soni” - Q) The movie is distributed by Netflix. Did that help in promotion?
- A) Netflix streams content in 190 countries. Indian movies which do well in international film festivals do not get a good reception in their own country. Netflix provided us the platform to cater to fans worldwide.
- Q) Will ‘Soni’ prompt creation of movies of similar genre?
- A) Since the beginning, I was told that I was not that pretty. The actors of ‘Soni’ have not used any makeup whatsoever during shooting. I realised that the true beauty of a person lies in her strength and pursuance of excellence. Physical traits should be no barrier to success. So filmmakers can definitely take a leaf out of the book of ‘Soni’.
- Q) What does gender equality mean to you?
- A) Equality in real sense can be achieved if two people understand each other. We must try for peaceful coexistence. Segregation would only do more damage.
- Q) What are your future plans?
- A) I had not planned for ‘Soni’. Hence, I have no plans as such. I am presently shooting for a movie in Varanasi. I want to play sensitive and intense roles.
- Q) What will you say about Odisha government’s decision to provide 33% reservation to women in Lok Sabha elections?
- A) We must be careful. The reserved seats should not be misused. The women who contest elections and win should not become puppets in the hands of others.
