Priyanka Setia, of Begum Jaan-fame, will be next seen in Apoorva Lakhia’s directorial Haseena Parkar. The talented actress says that she plays the role of a lawyer in the film based on Dawood’s sister Haseena. “My character stands against Haseena. Because it’s a real life character you are answerable to the person you are playing. You can’t make it a caricature. I had to pay close attention and keep it as genuine as possible,” says Priyanka.
The film stars Shraddha Kapoor as Haseena and Sidhant Kapoor as Dawood. She says that the only source material for research was through Internet and newspaper articles. “I have tried to play the role with full honesty and give my 100 per cent,” she adds.
Haseena Parkar isn’t the first film being made on a life of a gangster. Bollywood has seen several movies inspired by such characters, including recently released Daddy (based on gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli). But Priyanka maintains that Haseena Parkar shows the mafia queen as a human being. “This is an amazing story of human being which needs to be told. We are not trying to glorify a gangster. In fact we have tried to keep the character as real as possible. We are being true and honest,” says the actress who has also acted in Hawaizaada.
Ask her about her experience working with Shraddha and she says, “She is a sweet girl and I’m not just saying this because I’m promoting the film. I first met her during the script reading of Haseena Parkar. We did workshops together. She is a genuine person and takes care of everyone on the set. She appreciates and respects others and motivates them when they do good work. I will not mind working with her again.”
Priyanka says that she wants to do roles which are meaty and substantial. “They should have something meaningful and definite to say. I am looking for such characters and that’s the reason why I signed Haseena Parkar and Begum Jaan. I got to play two different characters. In Begum Jaan, Jameela was a strong headed prostitute,” she says, adding that she is happy getting to play such characters.
Though Begum Jaan was critically appreciated, the film failed to make money at the box-office. Did this upset the actress? “To be honest, my role has received mostly positive response. The fate of the film was not in our hands. You play the character with utmost sincerity, do your homework well, do the dubbing, and promote it. There’s nothing more that you can do. I cannot be upset about the failure because it’s not under my control,” she says, adding, “I don’t think of the film as a failure, for me it was an experience. I loved working with Vidya Balan and the other girls, and I am happy that I made some great friends.”
