As the fiery and independent Geeta Rao in Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi , Chitrangda Singh made people stand up and take notice of her. But after an unimpressive Sorry Bhai! in 2008, there wasn’t any sound from the actor. But now Chitrangda is back with Sudhir Mishra in the romantic thriller, Yeh Saali Zindagi. She blames the economic slowdown in the recent years for her absence from the big screen. “I did sign a couple of projects after ‘Sorry Bhai!’ but the films didn’t take off due to the recession.” Is that why she was seen more in ads than in movies? Chitrangda shrugs non-chalantly, “I realised that ads didn’t take too much of my time and they also made good money.”
There were also rumours about Chitrangda’s fall-out with her husband, golfer Jyoti Randhawa. Almost as if on cue, she answers, “I’m very lucky to have a person who understands my ambition. I support him entirely. I’ve even caddied for him!” So while Jyoti pursues his golfing, Chitrangda is “based in Mumbai”. ‘Yeh Saali Zindagi’ was many firsts for the sultry actress. She plays a singer in the film, Priti, who is “selfish about her love”. She adds, “There’s something innocent and brave about her that makes her complicated. For a person like Priti, you have to simplify her character with your performance.”
It was also Chitrangda’s first time with actor Irrfan Khan, “I was very nervous about working with Irrfan, but you have to give it to him, he’s of a different class. It was only later that I realised what a fine actor he is and that he improvises a lot!”
Chitrangda’s next film, Desi Boyz, is with Akshay Kumar and John Abraham to be directed by David Dhawan’s son, Rohit Dhawan. “It’s a role I’ve never done before,” is only what she will reveal.
