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A former Miss World and one of the most successful actresses
in Bollywood, Rai Bachchan said the film stretched her as an
actress, with each day posing new challenges to overcome.
"Every day when I come to work I kept saying, how am I supposed
to wrap my head around the situation like this, on any human
level?" the actress told Reuters at the Cannes Film Festival on
Tuesday where "Jazbaa" made its debut.
"That to me just seemed tough, demanding, grueling, challenging
and, thereby, so interesting."
Rai Bachchan, 41, was named Miss World in 1994, often features
on "most beautiful" lists and is one half of a Bollywood
supercouple with actor husband Abhishek Bachchan, son of
Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan.
Her prolific Bollywood career includes hits such as "Hum Dil De
Chuke Sanam" and "Devdas," and she has also starred in Hollywood
movies such as "The Pink Panther 2."
"Jazbaa" (Passion), directed by Sanjay Gupta, is the first
acting project for Rai Bachchan after she welcomed her first
child in 2011.
Gupta said the actress tapped into a "very raw" performance that
drove the film, in which a lawyer and single mother (Rai
Bachchan) "has to do the impossible" to get her kidnapped
daughter back. "Life of Pi" actor Irrfan Khan also co-stars.
At Cannes this year, the subject of women's role in cinema has
been a hot topic. Rai Bachchan herself co-chaired a U.N.0backed
panel to discuss the issue on the sidelines of the festival,
where she has previously served as a jury member.
She said "Jazbaa" was a strong female drama, but didn't want
that to distract from the main content of the film.
"We don't want necessarily things being bracketed as
female-centric - by doing that you are marginalizing the female
protagonist, so don't label it, don't marginalize it, don't
define it as being different," the actress said.
"Recognize it as being part of the broader cinematic experience.
We all belong, all our subjects and stories too."
(Reporting by Mike Davidson for Reuters TV, Writing by Piya
Sinha-Roy, Editing by W Simon)
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