Bollywood knocked on her door for years. But when Ken Ghosh's debut film Ishq Vishq dropped into her lap, Shenaz Treasurywala could refuse no longer.
"I have nothing against the film industry," she says, "but my mom asked me to do anything but act. For her sake, I did not think about it."
Apparently, Shenaz's mum thought Bollywood was full of strange people. "But I met Ken Ghosh at a party and he asked me to [take a] screen test. They even came home to meet Mom and convinced her I was doing the right thing."
The MTV veejay, who did a course at New York's Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, did have her apprehensions. "I worried about whether acting in Bollywood was my cup of tea -- whether I could live up to it. But I enjoyed the filmi jhatkas."
That she had to go to South Africa to shoot a song made this globetrotter even more excited.
Ishq Vishq is a love triangle also starring Shahid and Amrita Rao. Talking about her role, Shenaz says, "I play a character like Alicia Silverstone in Clueless -- a rich girl who joins a new college. She is very bubbly and vivacious. The character is a lot like me. I can play the fool quite easily and add my own touch to bring the character to life. I also cry easily. In college, they taught us to think of a bad smell or simulate a bad taste to start crying. I just think of my ex-boyfriend!"
About her co-actors, Shenaz says, "Shahid is a sweet guy to work with. He is extremely focused and good in front of the camera. He also dances very well. In fact, I would ask you to watch out for him in the film because he is star material. Amrita is great fun to be with too. We had a great time on the sets."
Shenaz has not seen the rushes of her film, which is due for an April 25 release, yet. "Ken says it is a big surprise," she explains. "So except for the television promos, I have not seen anything. Yes, I am nervous about how I will look eventually. So far, the response has been encouraging."
Despite having been in front of the camera during her veejay days, Shenaz found her first day shooting for the film nerve-wracking. "There was a lot of pressure," she admits. "So many people wanted to know who that girl was. I was in this filmi outfit and had to do a song sequence. But once the camera started ro
lling, I was fine."
Lip-syncing was the toughest part, she says. "I had to sing aloud with the song as it played in the background. I love dancing. I learnt from [choreographer and dancing instructor] Shiamak Davar. Now, the moment I get on the dance floor, I do my filmi jhatkas. My friends think I have become filmi."
Shenaz believes that acting can be taught. "Lee Strasberg taught me different ways in which a scene can be approached so that it is perfect. Acting schools also open you up -- you react differently to each scene. It makes you a very reactive person."
But using those skills in Bollywood is a different matter. "At college, you learn the Meisner Technique and how to react and get cues from your co-actor. In Bollywood, most of the time, your co-actor is not even around and you get your cues from a cutter stand," she says.
Not that Shenaz is complaining. "I am learning and unlearning, and it is a lot of fun," she says. "Working with Ken and his team has been amazing. There was a lot of energy on the sets, which shows in the film. Tips [Cassettes, the producer] is a great production house."
Now that she has landed in the Hindi film industry, Shenaz Treasurywala is no longer in awe of the stars as she used to be in her college days. "Everyone is a superstar in their own right," she says.
