‘Action Replayy’ role is collage of 70s actresses: Aishwarya Rai (Interview)

MUMBAI - Aishwarya Rai, who plays a ‘typical’ girl of the 1970s in the retro comedy “Action Replayy”, says she didn’t try to imitate any particular actress, but picked from the looks and mannerisms of all reigning heroines of that era.

“There isn’t any particular actor whom I followed. In terms of visual styling, make-up and hair, there are lots of actresses from that time. There is no signature reference of any particular actor of that time. It’s a collage of all actors,” Aishwarya, 37, told IANS in an interview.

Preceded by serious roles in period films like “Umrao Jaan” (2006) and “Jodhaa Akbar” (2008), it was the word ‘retro’ that caught her attention when the film was offered to her.

Aishwarya reveals that “Action Replayy” was originally a play by the film’s director Vipul Shah himself, and he did not deviate much from the original script.

“It’s wonderful that I had so much of period films to do and yet they are all different. When Vipul said he wanted to do a retro film, the word retro was quite catchy. He didn’t call it historical era, period piece, pre-independence, he called it retro era,” she said.

“The moment you say retro, we all go into the 70’s. I instantly knew it was different,” she said.

“It’s a fun genre. Vipul was very clear about the film he was making. It was a play that he made several years ago. He was very clear in his narrative, and didn’t want to change anything except when most necessary. Of course, we improvised, but not that much, because Vipul was clear about what each character was supposed to do,” Aishwarya said.

The actress said though it’s a comedy film, she got enough scope to exhibit her acting skills.

“This film gave me the opportunity to do something. We have pushed the envelope even in the comedy genre, where we have revisited another era. Of course, visually there are aspects of styling, make-up and costume, and there are nuances in acting. As my character is very boisterous in the beginning of the film and then becomes mellow and feminine, we have spoofed it in the acting style of that time,” said Aishwarya.

Did she ask for tips from her parents-in-law Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan?

“No, I didn’t sit with Ma or Paa because, like Paa has always said, your work speaks volumes. You need not sit with them and literally speak. You have their films to refer to,” she said.

Aishwarya feels her career has come full circle in the past two years as she is doing films with directors she worked with in her initial days.

“I am thankful to get such good roles in my career. It’s a blessing and there are lots of very good memories and they were fulfilling,” she said.

(Dibyojyoti Baksi can be contacted at dibyojyoti.b@ians.in)