Ameesha Patel on Hindi Vs South debate, Mahesh Babu, regrets, Gadar 2 | Interview
India Today
Ameesha Patel is all set for Gadar 2. In a candid and exclusive chat with IndiaToday.in, the actress spoke about her career regrets, Mahesh Babu, working in Telugu cinema and more.
Ameesha Patel made her debut in 2000s with the iconic film Kaho Na Pyaar Hai alongside debutante Hrithik Roshan. Since then, Ameesha has starred in many Hindi films. Some of her most memorable films are Gadar, Honeymoon Travels, Bhool Bhulaiyaa. Ameesha has not just restricted herself to Hindi cinema but has also tried her hands with Telugu films.
She starred opposite Mahesh Babu in the Telugu film Naani. She has also co-starred alongside Pawan Kalyan, Jr-NTR, among others. In a candid and explosive chat with IndiaToday.in, Ameesha opens up on Gadar 2, reuniting with Sunny Deol, Mahesh Babu’s ‘Bollywood cannot afford me’ comment and the ongoing language debate.
Speaking about reuniting with Sunny Deol for Gadar 2, Ameesha said that she is very happy and it feels surreal. “Sunny and I did two not so successful films in between but to reunite for Gadar 2 was a surreal experience because it is almost like wearing a Spider-man, Wonderwoman costume. You come back to a character. I think this is probably the first time in the history of Indian cinema that chapter 2 of an epic film like Gadar is being made, because Devdas and others have been remade with different actors but no epic film. No Sholay, No Mother India, unfortunately, because of their tragic ending, have had the ability to have part 2. But, it is fantastic that Gadar 2 could take the story ahead from where we left off. To return to playing our iconic characters is surreal and I hope the audience love it as much as they loved the first one.”
She emphasised that she is someone who is excited about all her films irrespective of their outcome. Ameesha added, “I am excited about every film of mine. I don’t differentiate between my films, because I have done it for a certain reason. I give my 100 per cent to all of my films irrespective of their outcome. I am as excited about Gadar 2 as any other release. But of course, Gadar 2 is Gadar. It is a big deal. It is not just an ordinary announcement, it is extraordinary.”
Commenting on the kind of roles she wants to do, Ameesha shared, “There are so many untapped roles that I have still not played. I want to play a Mughal warrior princess, or I want to play a period film from the Mughal era. I would love to play an iconic woman character, a negative character, a detective. There are so many interesting things happening. It is exciting to play something you are not in real life. I would like to play an Indian wonder woman. OTT is such a big medium and offers so much to do for an actor. I hope i get offered something interesting.”
Remembering the times she regretted missing out on films due to miscommunications, Ameesha revealed, “There were a lot of films that I couldn’t do because there was either miscommunication or they did not reach me. I won’t take names but they didn’t reach me and I would have loved to do them. I only found out later that they had approached me via the secretary but did not get a meeting, and were told I didn’t have dates. I missed out on films which I really wanted to be a part of.”
She added, “Some films I had to miss because i was busy doing other films and then, of course, some films I did, which you know, you wish there was an earthquake and someone would swallow you, it happens to everyone. But I will never disown any of my work because I signed it. I learn from my mistakes rather than from my successes.”
