Lisa Ray talks about ‘unfilmy film’ ‘Kasoor’: Could wear a realistic wardrobe of black tailored clothes

The actress took to her Instagram, where she shared the music videos of the tracks “Kitni Bechain Hoke”, “Dekha Jo Tumko” and “Dil Mera Tod Diya” to name a few from the film, which also stars Aftab Shivdasani.

Mumbai: Actress Lisa Ray took a trip down memory lane and reminisced about Vikram Bhatt’s 2001 directorial “Kasoor”, which she tagged as a refreshingly “unfilmy film”.

The actress took to her Instagram, where she shared the music videos of the tracks “Kitni Bechain Hoke”, “Dekha Jo Tumko” and “Dil Mera Tod Diya” to name a few from the film, which also stars Aftab Shivdasani.

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Talking about the film, she wrote: “The year was 2000 and a refreshingly unfilmy film was offered me by what was referred to as the #BhattCamp: the irrepressibly talented and philosophical @maheshfilm and his brother, Mukesh Bhatt who specialised in producing unconventional Hindi films.”

Lisa spoke about how in 2000s female roles were very limited and how “Kasoor” revolved around an independent female lawyer.

“At a time when female roles were still relegated to a few stray scenes and dance numbers in Switzerland in tasteful pastel, the film in question, #Kasoor revolved around an independent female lawyer, Simran Bhargav and her relationship with a mysterious, sexy client, played by @aftabshivdasani.”

The film talked about a man named Shekhar, who is accused of killing his wife, he hires Simran, a lawyer with a spotless record. She believes he is innocent and starts developing feelings for him, unaware of his true intentions.

Lisa revealed that the film was layered and how a realistic wardrobe of clothes could be worn in the story.

“It was dark, it was mysterious (even though the script was ‘inspired’ by the American film, Jagged Edge) it was edgy for the times, I could wear a realistic wardrobe of black tailored clothes (except in some of these songs) and it was a female centric story.”

Up until that point Lisa “had resisted Bollywood reasoning” it was not for her.

“Despite the many tempting offers that were thrown my way in the 90s, I simply couldn’t relate to the storylines (which were let’s face it, all based on very similar tropes) and the filmi culture. Besides, as an introvert, I was terrified of performing in front of large groups (count the crew on a typical hindi film set- it’s a lot) “

She said that after a meeting with director Vikram Bhatt at the production house she overcame her “reserve and shyness”and “agreed to plumb the darker depths of my being (though I didn’t know the first thing about acting) to be part of Kasoor.”

The actress is astonished and humbled that after all these years the soundtrack by Nadeem Shravan is not only well recalled but relevant.

“Sometimes many elements join together to create something that will be embraced by generations to come, an embrace that unites the past with the present. What a beautiful, timeless encounter with Hindi films. For me. My personality and nature would have been extinguished by anything else.”