“Playing Stupid Tougher; If You Over Act You Might Irritate The Audience” – Ameesha Patel In Conversation With Koimoi

Tell us something about your character Cherry from the film.
My part in the film is a very special but a very important appearance. In the midst of all this conniving, manipulating drama with cars being blown up, guns, murders and billion dollar deals, there is a character of Cherry who is a dumb blonde. Especially when you are highly educated and intelligent, playing such a character becomes really difficult. Playing stupid is definitely tougher. Doing comedy is a tough genre and playing stupid is really hard.

The character that you play in the film, was earlier played by Sameera Reddy and was reportedly turned by a lot of other actresses. What drove you to accept this role?
You know, these two years I was preparing myself and worked on films, Race 2 being one of them. A character like Cherry, who is more like a blonde bimbette, a Barbie doll character is really difficult to play because if you over act you tend to irritate the audience. I actively made sure of the fact that I want to come across as over the top, but lovable! Though the role is limited in screen time, I took it up because of the quality of the role. Plus, its an Abbas Mustan film and it is really special because of the major success we had together in Humraaz. Then there was Mr. Taurani as the producer, the exotic locations, the entire star cast and most importantly, the Race franchise which makes it all the more wonderful.

Pairing up with the maverick thriller pioneers Abbas Mustan yet again after the super successful Humraaz, are you expecting firecrackers this time?
I am expecting firecrackers, not because I am paired up with Abbas-Mustan but because of the fact that the film is a really good film. Race 2 is bigger, better, steamier, racier, and much more lavish than its precursor. Race was more of an adult film, something that was based on sexuality. It had a drama between a wife cheating on a husband with the husband’s brother. This is a more commercial, hero versus hero, a typical guy oriented film. It is more of a family film this time, one which you can watch with your kids because it is the battle between John Abraham and Saif Ali Khan ultimately. Race was a bold film, just the way Abbas- Mustan’s films have always been ahead of their times. They made Humraaz much ahead of their time and tampered with a very sensitive subject in Race one. But Race 2 is a windy commercial entertainer. People will be more excited to watch this film since it is universally appealing.

Race 2 is a multi star cast film which boasts of some heavyweight names. So how has your equations been with your co stars from the film?
All of them are amazing but I have a special soft corner for Mr. Anil Kapoor who was so supportive to me and to Saif, who has already worked with me previously in Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic. They were actually the warmest and made me feel very very comfortable. Of course, I have the highest regards for Anil ji because even after so many years in the industry, he is someone who is overtly dedicated to his work. He is always so disciplined, on time, and looking younger and younger day by day. In fact Anilji has been the most dedicated and rehearsed co-star I have come across. He doesn’t like fooling around and is so into the character. To learn from institutions like this has been a privilege for me. So I hold a lot of regard for Mr. Kapoor who has supported and helped me make my scenes come out even better!