Rimi Sen on her break from acting: I was trying to re-discover myself as a human being

Rimi Sen. All pictures courtesy/PR

Rimi Sen, who is best known for films like Hungama, Dhoom, is looking forward to making her comeback in the film industry and she is open to taking up interesting offers that she can relate to. The actor started her career in Bollywood with Hungama in 2003 and went on to do films like Golmaal: Fun Unlimited, Garam Masala, Deewane Huye Paagal, Johnny Gaddaar, among others. She has also done films in the Bengali and Telugu film industry. Rimi was also part of the 9th season of the reality show Bigg Boss. In a candid chat with mid-day.com, Rimi Sen talks about her conscious decision to take a break from the industry, and how she is now ready to take up interesting and diverse roles in OTT and films.

When asked about where was she all these years, Rimi was quick to reply, "I was right here, I was in Mumbai only. I was trying to re-discover myself as a human being." Talking about taking a break from films, she said, "When I started working, I was aggressive and I used to believe that it's either my way or highway. Basically, I was immature! Acting isn't all about just going on the set and giving your best shot. You also have to work with everyone and ensure you aren't rude to anyone and work as a unit. I was a little frustrated as I was being offered only comedy films, which I wasn't happy with."

Adding further, Sen said, "I wanted to work with filmmakers like Sriram Raghavan, Shoojit Sircar, Dibakar Banerjee and Neeraj Pandey. But I was typecast, so I wasn't being approached for any other roles. I wasn't serious about my work back then. But later, I did get serious and started doing films that I liked. I approached Sriram Raghavan and other filmmakers and did films Johnny Gadar, but unfortunately, they didn't do well at the box office. After Thank You (2011), it was a conscious decision on my part to not do comedy films. So that's the reason why I took this break. I am not a person who will work just for money; I want to do something that I could relate to."

The current OTT boom has opened a whole different market for actors. Acknowledging this, Rimi said, "It is a good opportunity for actors, even for the ones who have retired. There is so much content being produced that they [makers] are running out of actors to cast. Earlier, it was only the feature films that were being made and there was less work for actors. But now with OTT platforms, there is a huge boom. And they are purely looking out for talent. There are a lot of actors who are doing really well because of this. The content that is being created now isn't made to just make money; there are sensible films being made to educate and entertain people. There is a lot more content now; this wasn't the case 10-15 years ago. This change is welcoming and I am ready to work now since I might get to do what I like. The only difference is that earlier I used to work for survival, but now I will do it for creative satisfaction."

The Golmaal actress is open to doing diverse and interesting roles. "I haven't really zeroed in any project. But I am open to work in films and web series. I am taking help from the media to let everyone know I ready to work again. But I won't do roles just for the sake of taking up something. I want to take up an interesting character. I won't say it's my comeback, but I want people to see me in a different light. I liked Vidya Balan's role in Kahaani (2012), if I am offered something like that, I would be happy to take it up," added Rimi.

Other than acting in films, Rimi also took up production with Budhia Singh: Born to Run (2016). When asked if she is interested in producing again, she said that she will make an announcement next year. She revealed, "We are working on a couple of scripts for web series. We do have a few projects that are interesting and something that we can relate to. We might be able to make an announcement by next year-end."