Artists are blessed to be able to look at life with a creative vision, inspiring people through their ideas, passion, and their wonderful journey of achievements. One such brilliant artist is Bollywood actress Sima Raaj who spoke to our team at Mid Day about her inspiring journey.
Sima Raaj
Tell us about your journey as an actor from Theater, Films to OTT platforms.
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My journey in Theatre acting started way back as a teenager. Belonging to a strong culture of theatre group activities, pushed me to enter the world of acting. My professional theatre journey got a head start after I graduated from NSD. From acting in several plays with excellent directors like Barry John, Dr. Anuradha Kapoor, Usha Ganguly, Debashish Majumdar, Shyamanand Jalan, Neeraj Kabi, Alan Craig Wilson from London to name a few; putting my best effort to make my mark in the theatre world.
I’ve been blessed to have worked in various mainstream movies in Bollywood like ‘Ek Hasina Thi’ Directed by Sriram Raghvan, ‘Chandni Bar’ by Madhur Bhandarkar to name a few significant projects. I did significant cameo roles in several popular episodic TV shows & 4 very popular daily soap operas for top channels like Star Plus, Colors & Sony. But I am yet to unfold a new path of my acting career in OTT. In the recent past, I have acted in ‘Scavenger’s Daughter’ which is streaming on ZEE 5 Premium wherein I played the lead role, Directed by Ritesh Menon & Produced by Choti Production. I now aspire to work on good projects (OTT, FILMS) which will offer me opportunities to showcase my talent fully as an actor. Post 'Scavenger’s Daughter', I took a break to reinvent myself as an actor, artist & creator.
This is your first musical venture singing a cover song. Tell us more about this collaboration and song?
It was a wonderful experience of creating something which is very close to my heart. It all started 3 years ago when Sharanya suggested this incredible tune as a practice song & particularly because it has a strong Indian Classical base. Every time I sang, a story idea would emerge but I was not sure if I was capable of executing my vision. I discussed the idea and concept with Sharanya, who encouraged me to go ahead. Last year being relaxed with the lockdown, I again toyed with the idea to actualize my vision to create this music video. Thus, I approached my friends from the film fraternity to bring the song to life.
We had very few resources, my story needed professional work & I was not ready to compromise. Finally, I received help in procuring lights, a camera, etc at an affordable cost thanks to my Cinematographer friend Rupesh Kumar who is also the DOP of my video. Sharanya created the track & Robin Joseph supported me by mixing the song fabulously. The Painting was done by Dr. Utsavi, the biggest issue was finding a suitable location, hence we shot part of the video at my Residence and recording studio & Rupesh shot a few portions at Live Wire along with his students as a part of their curriculum to shoot a music video.
Watch the music video of Ek Ehsaas here -
What inspired you to be an actor?
Honestly, I am fortunate to be born in a family which introduced me to art, culture, music & sports at a very early age. My artistic background pushed me to take part in recitation competitions, act & direct children's plays in school, neighborhood community’s cultural programs; but neither did I nor my family ever think of me taking up acting as a full-time profession due to the underlying perception of acting being a recreational cultural activity. I joined a local theatre group & continued acting in the local theatre circuits until I took admission at Rabindra Bharti University in Kolkata & started studying Drama. NSD happened like an unexpected miracle. My fellow students, colleagues, professors like Manoj Mitra, Rudra Prasad Sengupta & other professors encouraged & supported me to apply for NSD.
The lockdown has been challenging for artists and professionals from the entertainment industry. How has your experience been?
Yes, it was a very difficult time for everybody worldwide. We were all in shock. The challenge was to keep the hope alive. That was the time I started pursuing my singing lessons seriously. Instead of feeling sad & waiting for things to normalize again, I put my best foot forward to make things happen for myself. I diverted my energy to creating content for Instagram and lending my voice for dubbing. I conducted various voice and acting classes, which initially were online & recently began offline too; but significantly what kept me alive is my Music. I performed in online concerts and one of them was YouTube live, credit to my wonderful teacher and now friend Sharanya Natrajan.
Thanks to OTT platforms and varied content that’s being created, work opportunities have sprung up for several actors. What is your view on this parallel industry?
I feel extremely optimistic about this. OTT platforms came as a breath of fresh air an alternate content creation outlet that gives creators more freedom than mainstream cinema. India has been embodied with extremely talented artists, directors, actors & after this OTT revolution it has been rewarding with exciting opportunities for different talents. I think it will succeed as a parallel Industry because people have vast choices & both together will definitely work as an excellent combination.
Do tell us and your fans about your Upcoming Projects.
Currently, Sharanya & I are working on a brand new original song. She is training me to polish my voice and teaching me how to produce original music that garners people's attention. I have a dream to establish my own production house, I have also started reading scripts in order to acquire. Apart from that, I am auditioning for various projects as an actor, which will materialize soon.
What would be your Dream Collaboration?
Yes, it’s my drive, dream, passion, and vision which has never allowed me to step back and quit, as I know that one day with my industrious efforts I am going to be part of new and bigger projects in the film industry. I don’t know where to start but yes I am going to share with you a few names with whom I really want to collaborate which includes Iconic Directors Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Ram Madhvani, Shashank Khaitan, Ali Abbas Zafar, Raj & DK, Zoya Akhtar, Alankrita Shrivastav, Richie Mehta; production houses like Red Chillies, Amir Khan production and actors like Ranbir Kapoor, Manoj Bajpayee & obviously Shahrukh Khan, to name a few. I want to collaborate with Hollywood Stalwarts Spielberg, Ridley Scott, Rob Marshall, and Ron Howard. But if given a chance I would love to work again with Sriram Raghvan. As a musician, I’d love to collaborate with Herbie Hancock, Pritam, Amit Trivedi & A R Rahman, if it is not asking for too much from life. I definitely want to work in a Disney movie, as I am too much in love with their films.
To know her more you can follow Actress Sima Raaj on her Facebook Fan Page @simaraajofficial and Instagram @i_amsima.
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