TV challenging, in no rush for films: Urmila Matondkar (Interview)

MUMBAI - “Rangeela” girl Urmila Matondkar has been missing from the big screen for almost three years. But she says she is willing to wait for something special in films and happy to do shows on TV, which she finds challenging.

“I have done so many different kinds of things that only when something really interesting is offered to me, something which is a notch higher than what I have done before or a wee bit special than my previous work, only then I’ll take it up, otherwise I’m willing to wait,” Urmila told IANS in an interview.

“I don’t think any particular genre is what I’m looking forward to, but something that I like a lot. People do come to me with scripts, but I don’t know what they are thinking while writing those roles,” she added.

Wearing a short, cut-sleeves white dress with splashes of orange and red, Urmila made a pretty picture, sitting in her vanity van.

The actress, who was last seen in a film in 2008, “EMI - Liya Hai Toh Chukana Parega”, still exudes the charm and charisma that she had when she became the talk of the town with her scintillating performance in the hit film “Rangeela” (1995).

And now she is ready to spread glamour on the small screen once again by stepping into the shoes of actress Mallika Sherawat and judging dance reality show “Chak Dhoom Dhoom” along with Jaaved Jaafery and Terrence Lewis.

The 36-year-old will be making her entry on the show Friday. In the past, Urmila has also judged another dance reality show “Jhalak Dikhla Jaa”.

When asked if she found television challenging as a medium, Urmila said: “It’s very challenging to be on television because there are no characters, no lines, no dialogues, it’s just you.”

“But at the same time it’s very nice because if as a person you are confident about yourself, then it’s great to be connecting with the audience directly like this,” she added.

“I wasn’t ready to do it initially because I feel that anything that you repeat can be very boring. But then I got excited because it was a dance related show and dance is something that is very close to my heart and I am passionate about it,” she said.

“When I heard the entire format, I thought it was particularly interesting because this is the first time that groups will be judged, which is quite difficult for the performers as well as judges. When you are judging a person on a one-on-one basis, it is easy, but when a person is performing in a group, everyone has to be good and in sync,” she added.

The actress, who has done films like “Judaai”, “Satya”, “Mast”, “Pinjar”, “Jungle”, “Bhoot” and “Ek Haseena Thi” and is known for her dancing expertise, has already decided her criteria for judging the groups.

“I will be checking the technicalities, whether it’s the footwork, the body posture, etc.; when it’s in a group, everything needs to be in sync. So I’ll really focus on that,” She stressed.

Urmila also revealed that in “Jhalak Dhikla Jaa” she had to sometimes mince her words because she was judging people who were also celebrities.

“It was restrictive in ‘Jhalak…’ because you know that the contestants are celebrities in their own right. In that show, sometimes I did find myself in a tight spot but here I don’t think it will be like,” said the actress.

(Ruchika Kher can be contacted at ruchika.k@ians.in)