By Our Bollywood Reporter Ms Divya Chawla
Actress Shamita Shetty, who was recently in Lucknow alongwith sister Shilpa, to promote her new film Fareb, says she enjoyed her role despite portraying a negative character for the third time.
Who's a better actress - you or Shilpa?
I think I am as beautiful as Shilpa is and much more good-looking and sexy than many Bollywood actresses. I have inherited my mother Sunanda's beauty. She herself wanted to be an actress but her dreams remained just that - dreams. Like most daughters, I am a shadow of my mother who was very beautiful in her youth.
My mother is also a very good astrologer and she had predicted long ago that both Shilpa and I would become filmstars. Her prediction has come true.
You are again playing a character with shades of gray in Fareb. Why?
Yes, this happens to be the third film where I am playing a negative role. I am the 'other woman' in Fareb. I found the role very sexciting.
Don't you think your popularity would go down if you continue doing such roles?
I think my role in Fareb is quite bold. I play Ria Singhania, a businesswoman who is starved of love, lonely and wants someone to love her. She is a very vulnerable woman. I have portrayed reality and not hypocrisy. I love the role I have done.
Do you consider your sister a rival?
I love my sister. I have learnt a lot from her. I have even aped her. Yet somewhere in my heart I also feel that she's my rival.
Are you jealous of her?
Like I said, I consider Shilpa my rival. But I also love her very deeply. My mother will vouch for what I am saying. Although it's rare, I do weep when I see her sad.
Shilpa is considered a very good dancer. How do you rate yourself?
We both are good dancers...dancing is in our blood. I inherited it from my father. We wanted to dance together in Fareb but the director didn't allow us to do so.
Where did you learn acting?
I learnt it all by myself. While Shilpa had to learn through her own mistakes, I learnt a lot from the mistakes she made. Very often her make-up was bad and so were the dresses she wore. I have consciously tried to project a sexier image than my sister. I have studied her roles very minutely and want to excel her. Yet I also want to love her more.
How different are you from your sister?
My mother often used to say that while Shilpa is an extrovert, I am an introvert. But this is no longer true. I am more bothered about my figure than she is. She cooks far better Italian and Chinese food than I can. She has befooled me a lot of times in the past and still excels at that. Once in our childhood she told me that I had to wear a blue puffy because it was 'blue day'. I made a laughing stock of myself in school. Later Shilpa gave me the school uniform to wear that she had secretly carried with her.
