Payal Ghosh on the Rise

Payal Ghosh

She made her debut with Prayanam (Telugu) and then came up with a powerful performance in Sharpe's Peril (for BBC), Oosaravelli (Telugu) and after winning hearts of millions with her cute performance in 'Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi', actress Payal Ghosh who just returned from her tour of performances and appearances all over the world, bags one more honor that of Iconic Woman Achiever and was felicitated by the Hon'ble Governor of Maharashtra Shri Bhagat Singh Koshiyari that recognizes her contribution towards the society.

The Bengali beauty Payal Ghosh speaks to Paresh B Mehta on several topics like Women Empowerment, actresses in the film industry and even some hilarious moments she recalls of watching films in Cinema Halls.

Have you observed any evolution in the attitude of the society towards women right from your school days to present times on this International Women's Day?

In West Bengal the Devi is worshipped and women are considered as Shaktimaan. During our Durga Pujas and particularly on the Ashtami, the girl child is worshipped as an avatar of 'Maa'.

West Bengal is a culturally rich state and even today the women are very respected there, be it in public places or in public transport. Though, girls have to be a bit sober in their dress sense while in Kolkata as the conservative culture is still prevalent there.

It is being rumored that now you are seriously looking forward to debut on the OTT Platforms. Is that true?

The content on OTT platforms a couple of years back had no scope for performance oriented roles for female actresses. But now one can see several web series and films portraying women actresses in powerful characters. Even the audience that is looking for good content in the digital space has swelled. This has made me rethink about my perception regarding working in web series or films. There are a couple of offers on hand and I have yet to finalize them.

What is the progress of your upcoming films?

My forthcoming film RED with Krushna Abhishek should release in about 3-4 months time. I play several shades of a school girl, college student, a wife and then even that of an escort. In my other upcoming film New York to Haridwar I play a depressed girl in the US who comes to visit India. She travels all around India and then when she reaches Haridwar, she realizes that it is the most awesome place. It is here in Haridwar that this girl gets to know the beauty of Indian culture and its serene life.

Any aspirations of working with your dream director or a production house?

When I was new in Mumbai, I used to visit Siddhivinayak Temple in South Mumbai and after that used to hop across the road to Rajshri Productions office as that too is nothing short of a temple. Shri Rajkumar Barjatya was such a sweet person who adored me and we often used to chat for hours. I am really keen on doing a Rajshri film as they are so good personally in their behavior and attitude, that is exactly like the family culture shown in their films.

My other dream directors are Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Imtiyaz Ali and among my favorites are Karan Johar and there are quite a few of new creative directors.

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