Description: I am a Mumbaiite. I have lived in Mumbai (Bombay) all my life. I have grown up here, studied here. I¡¯ve played hard and rough through my years at Bombay Scottish School and in college. I¡¯ve earned the respect of friends and the love of a few women. I¡¯ve had my bones broken a few times, and my heart broken a lot.
I was a Media Planner at Enterprise-Nexus, an ad agency in Mumbai (which is now part of the WPP Group). I wasn¡¯t there... ( +expand to view full text )
Description: I am a Mumbaiite. I have lived in Mumbai (Bombay) all my life. I have grown up here, studied here. I¡¯ve played hard and rough through my years at Bombay Scottish School and in college. I¡¯ve earned the respect of friends and the love of a few women. I¡¯ve had my bones broken a few times, and my heart broken a lot.
I was a Media Planner at Enterprise-Nexus, an ad agency in Mumbai (which is now part of the WPP Group). I wasn¡¯t there long enough to find out if I would have been any good. But for reasons of argument, let¡¯s say I was.
For the first time in years, I felt like I was home again. Back in India. Back in advertising, this time, as a model, not a media planner. I do remember those days and the people I worked with.
In India, my first TV Commercial was for Cinthol. I was the first Asian model for Levis. At this point I was having the time of my life. I was one of the top models in the country and I was getting the plum assignments.
I didn¡¯t fancy myself as an actor till I was plumb in the middle of it all. When Pritish Nandy offered me a role in a movie project, I was a little nonplussed. Although the project was shelved, it opened up a new door for me. I spent a lot of time watching movies and studying great actors to try and build a screen persona of my very own.
My next movie, Water opened at the Toronto Film Festival, a humbling event as any I have ever seen. There were many rounds of applause for me and the rest of the cast at the event, and I began to see the beginnings of a wider audience for Indian films. (I refuse the term ¡®Bollywood¡¯. I find it terribly subservient.)