Life has been a simple and beautiful journey for this versatile actress with a Master’s in English Literature. And she has chosen to live the journey instead of fretting over the results. With theatre as a guiding light, and her stint as a professional dancer in a dance group run by Shiamak Davar for over six years, actress Meghana Gaonkar realised her dreams of becoming an actress. It has only made her clearer about where she wants to go in the industry.
Meghana, who missed Simple Agi Ondh Love Story due to date clashes, feels she got more than lucky to be cast in the sequel — Simple Aag Innondh Love Story (SILS) directed by Simple Suni. She speaks exclusively to Bengaluru Chronicle about her “simple” journey so far in the film industry, and much more.
“I was offered Simple Agi Ondh Love Story but due to date clashes, I could not do it. I was hoping Suni would include me for another project. So I consider myself lucky as I wouldn’t have been happier with a sequel. I like this one’s subject and storyline. I am also eager to work with young directors like him with a creative mindset. I was thrilled that he came back to me with the sequel. It was a fun film. Compared to my earlier ventures, where I had serious roles, I feel this sequel is the closest to what I am in real life,” says Meghana. SILS talks about the right frame of mind, emphasising on the present generation.
“I play Khushi (meaning happiness) who is modern but traditional. The younger generation of girls is similar. Unlike the first version, SILS has better music and dialogues with a nice love story. A dialogue in the film goes, ‘the path towards the goal is most enjoyable than achieving the goal.’ I believe that it is most essential to enjoy the journey,” she adds. Believing in doing quality work, she adds, “Nowadays, publicity is key before a release, but the audience is left amused with the final output. I do not want to cheat my audience. I will only chose films with stories worth telling. Fans should feel that if Meghana has acted in a film, then it must be worth it,” Meghana says.
Coming from a non-filmi background, she chose different paths — modelling, theatre, a diploma in film studies, small screen appearances which gave her study time before finally breaking into films. “My father was a police inspector, and he dreamt I would crack the IAS. I only regret that I could not fulfill his dream. Luckily, he pushed me to do higher studies and that is where I developed my love for reading and writing. Insofar as my stint in Shiamak Davar’s group is concerned, they were the best days in my life. I developed discipline, and a positive attitude towards life. It was memorable to be part of the group performing at the Commonwealth Games held in Australia.
Ultimately, Shiamak understood and supported my dream to act,” she says. Before signing off, the actress says that she intends to do a Ph. D soon while waiting for the right opportunities to come along.
