Buddhadeb turned me into a serious actor: Sameera Reddy

May 13, 2008 NR

Mumbai, May 14 (IANS) Bollywood's glam girl Sameera Reddy, who worked with Bengali filmmaker Buddhadeb Das Gupta in "Kaalpurush", says he has changed her into a serious actor.

"Dada (Buddhadeb) has made me an actor. He has taught me everything about acting. He has turned me into a serious actor. I consider him as my mentor. 'Kalpurush' has been the breaking point of my career. I have rediscovered myself as an actor," Sameera told IANS.

Sameera said after "Kaalpurush", she has been taken seriously in the industry and been offered serious roles.

"Mira Nair offered me the role in her film 'Migration' after watching 'Kaalpurush'. I am thankful to dada for that too."

The actress, who was seen in the recently released "Race", plays an important role in Bollywood director Anant Mahadevan's forthcoming film on the Maoist movement, "Red Alert".

She said she could accept the challenging role in "Red Alert" only because of Buddhadeb. The film will see her as a simple village girl who takes up the gun to fight against the system.

"I play the character of Laxmi in the film who is raped in the police station when she goes there to lodge a complaint. With all the hardship and injustice that she faces in society, Laxmi turns into a Naxalite to fight the system," Sameera said.

She is doing another Bengali film with her mentor Buddhadeb. It is the story of a girl who comes to Kolkata for a career in acting. There she meets Prosenjit and falls in love with him.

"This film is special to me as it draws a simile between me and one of the greatest actresses of Bollywood, Madhubala. It is such a good compliment because I have been a great fan of hers."

Sameera said she is also doing a couple of films in Telugu and Tamil.

On being asked if she is considering a change from glamorous roles to serious ones, Sameera said: "I am enjoying serious roles, but at the same time I would also like to carry my glamorous image."

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