It hasn't been easy for me - 'Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji' girl Shazahn

  • IndiaGlitz, [Wednesday,November 17 2010]

Newbie Shazahn Padamsee escaped getting observed with a hawk's eye in 'Rocket Singh Salesman of the Year' because it had a male character (Ranbir Kapoor) as the central protagonist and the entire film revolved around him. However, in 'Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji' she is the part of an ensemble cast and is a quintessential leading lady with Ajay Devgn as her co-star with Madhur Bhandarkar as the director who has time and again set high expectations of a performance when it comes to his leading ladies.

Isn't the pretty girl worried about the fact that expectations would be huge here?

On the contrary I feel that it is all the more exciting. When people expect stuff from you, it is only a positive thing because people feel ki yaar iss ladki mein kuch toh baat hai that she is being seen in a set up like this. I would actually hate to be in a position where nobody expects anything from you. If the industry is looking at me with a hawk's eye, it is welcome to do that. I am more than happy to be judged here.

When it comes to some of the most known females in the business, most have started with a hit. The only exceptions have been Kareena Kapoor (Refugee), Aishwarya Rai (Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya) and Kajol (Bekhudi) but then these were the actresses whose middle name was 'talent'. Now when you are getting a second chance, it must be a great feeling, isn't it?

(Smiles) I know that everyone feels it must have been easy for me but that is not the case at all. I don't come from a film family and the struggle is just the same as most newcomers. In this industry, you have to work hard to be treated with respect and fortunately I have not let my parents down. It is the best feeling in the world because I am the first person in my family to have worked in films.

In the hindsight, do you feel that a miniscule role in 'Rocket Singh - Salesman of the Year' hardly qualified as that of a leading lady and didn't help your cause much?

See, I was just happy with the fact that the film gave me a certain positioning in the industry. 'Rocket Singh…' was a beautiful film and I am not saying that just because I am partial due to my association with the film. Ask anybody associated with the film and he/she would agree that it was a very special film. Yes, I agree that it was not a quintessential commercial film in its true sense but then yes, it was a very intelligent for sure.

So do you mean to say that the box office failure of the film didn't affect you?

There are not many movies like these which are being made. That it didn't do too well is irrelevant. What is relevant is that it was critically acclaimed. Now I would have felt really bad had the film turned out to be a sub-standard product and subsequently panned. Thankfully, that was not the case.

However, seems like for your future engagements, you are extra careful in picking and choosing films and in no tearing hurry to sign films. After all the only new Hindi movie that you have signed is 'Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji'.

There have been lot of interesting offers but something which is interesting in isolation may not really be that exciting for me when I map it against my career path. I have taken my first step in the industry and till I retire, I have a long way to go. I know when a particular film is right and will say yes to it only when I am totally convinced. I like making my own decisions and to be in a state of mind to that, I trust myself to be pretty mature for my age. What I am sure though is that in this long journey of mine, I would always be choosing quality over quantity.