Minnisha Lamba may be starring in this week’s comedic release of Hum Tum Shabana, yet the beautiful Bollywood actress does not believe she is that funny, perhaps to her chagrin. Her co-stars, Tusshar Kapoor and Shreyas Talpade, definitely had fun at Ms. Lamba’s expense -- the two clowns playing several pranks on her during production. Ms. Lamba apparently did not mind, however, as she believes the trio of actors actually helped make Hum Tum Shabana a riotous comedy.
“I have a very bad sense of humor. More often than not, I try not to incorporate my experiences because it just backfires,” Ms. Lamba told the press. “I’ve been advised by people not to try because of my bad humor and bad sense of what can be funny. I’ve tried it before, but I’ve stopped it now, in lieu of public welfare.”
She may be trying to moderate her own personal humor, but Ms. Lamba made it clear that the audience should totally expect to be laughing out of their respective seats when watching Hum Tum Shabana in theaters and multiplexes this weekend.
“Hum Tum Shabana is a comedy film revolving around three characters played by Tusshar Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade, and me. I am playing Shabana, who takes part in a local beauty pageant as a contestant who doesn’t know how to walk, how to talk,” Ms. Lamba told the Indian media. “Thus, both Tusshar and Shreyas try to train her and, in the process, indulge in a competition to get Shabana, and their battle to woo the girl turns into a factor to lose her. So it’s a romantic comedy in which both of the boys fight for her.”
The boys may have fought for her character while on screen, but Messrs. Kapoor and Talpade certainly had their way with Ms. Lamba, who was the only leading lady on set, irrespective of whether the red light was off or on.
“Both Tusshar and Shreyas used to play pranks with me, but all the pranks we did off the shoot are also incorporated in the film,” she told the press. “We felt why waste such humor and fun that’s coming out naturally? Moreover, it worked in our favor, as it made the film more humorous and funny.”
All joking aside, Ms. Lamba talked to the Indian press of how she landed her leading role in Hum Tum Shabana, despite a few handicaps, such as the few number of women in the comedy space.
“Comedy is a very male-oriented space. I just lucked out by getting a movie where the female has a prominent presence,” she humbly told the press. “I was very lucky to get this role. I do plan to do other comedies, and I do know that, in those movies, I will have a lesser role as a female compared to all the male actors that I’m ready to accept.”On that note, Ms. Lamba was also keen on informing her viewing public that she is not necessarily looking for “women-centric roles.”
“I am not really looking at doing women-centric roles. You give a heart and soul into a role of a lifetime, but what's the point in doing such films where the reach is limited?” Ms. Lamba rhetorically asked the media. “I have gone through some heartbreaking experiences like that, but I don’t have the strength to do them as of now.”Another space she is not sure she has the savvy to venture into just yet is in the producer’s chair.
“I don’t think I am ready to turn producer right now because I want to make my mark in my chosen profession of acting,” Ms. Lamba explained to the press. “I think I need to do a lot more before I even think of branching out doing anything else. Let me feel satisfied. I am not right now.”While her acting ambitions may still be alive and kicking, Ms. Lamba is certainly satisfied with Hum Tum Shabana.
“Hum Tum Shabana isn’t a film that’s preaching to the society or has any lessons to deliver. It’s a light-hearted entertainer, which is what we are bringing to you,” Ms. Lamba told the press. “We’ve tried our best to make this a film that would be very worthy of an audience coming out and spending their hard-earned money. With this film, we want to tickle your funny bone, and we will and how!”