Interview: Kainaz Motivala

Kainaz Motivala studied to become a journalist, was a part of the modelling industry, switched her career to acting and is even a published writer. Here, she talks to us about her forthcoming release, Ragini MMS apart from how she values the script in a move the most and how she doesn’t want to do films for the heck of it.

Lipi Mehta: Let me start by congratulating you on your film, Ragini MMS. It seems really promising.

Kainaz Motivala: Thank you!

LM: So far, you’ve been a part of modelling, ads and you’ve done three movies too. How has your experience been in the Industry so far?

KM: It’s been really good. So far, I have worked with really nice and clean people. I think I am very lucky.

LM: Let’s talk about your forthcoming release, Ragini MMS. Why don’t you tell us something about your character in the film?

KM: Well, I am playing a 20-something girl who’s just come out of college. She’s a very sweet, simple, south-Bombay girl. She has this boyfriend who she’s been with for about 8-9 months. She’s madly in love with him and she thinks that he’s going to be ‘the one’. They plan a weekend getaway to this farmhouse and that’s when things start unravelling in front of the couple.

LM: Well, the concept sounds really interesting but this is a really different film. Did you have to train for this film? How hard was it?

KM: Yes, we did have to train hard. We had a month-long or rather a 20-day workshop before we started shooting. We did a lot of improvisations and my co-actor Raj is a trained actor from the FTII so he gave me a lot of tips. We had a great time doing the workshop. We had to really ‘feel’ the fear because we didn’t want it to look loud, over-the-top and fake. While doing the workshop, we realized that when we are scared, we don’t always scream or shout. When one is really scared, one tends to keep quiet and is more expressive than verbal. Apart from that, we also watched a lot of horror movies.

LM: You’ve worked with Alt Entertainment for this movie. How was it meeting and working with Ekta Kapoor?

KM: She’s very chilled-out and sweet. She’s equally nice and encouraging. We haven’t met her very often but all the meetings that I have had with her have been very pleasant.

LM: In your previous film Wake Up Sid, you have shared screen space with some acclaimed actors such as Konkona Sen Sharma and Ranbir Kapoor. How did it feel being there?

KM: It’s always great to work with actors who are more experience because you get to learn so much from them. I’ve taken a lot of tips from Ranbir and Koko’s really helped me out too. Even for Ragini MMS, I am really thankful to Raj for helping me out. There were so many scenes where I would ask for his guidance. It feels really nice to work with actors who are not selfish. In that sense, I must say that I’ve worked with great people.

LM: The character that you have essayed in Wake Up Sid looks very different from the one in Ragini MMS. How different would you say that the two are?

KM: Well, the characters are actually not very different based on the fact they are both south-Bombay girls. But Tanya in Wake Up Sid is more confident than Ragini in Ragini MMS. But Ragini has a huge graph in the film. She starts off as a shy, vulnerable character but because of the things that happen to her, she’s a completely different person by the end of it. Well, Ragini has an entire film to herself while Tanya had a small role. But otherwise, they’re quite similar to me in some aspects.

LM: You’ve worked with Pawan Kriplani in this movie and with Ayaan Mukherjee for Wake Up Sid. How important is this new stream of youthful directors for the Hindi film industry?

KM: They’re excellent people. It’s really nice working with them because they concentrate a lot on the content. For me, nothing is more important than the script of the movie. At least Ayaan and Pawan have lived with their scripts for one and a half years. This is really important because the director would know his characters inside out. This makes the job of the actor much simpler. Also, because of their age, our wavelengths match and so, they are really easy to work with.

LM: You’ve even trained with Shiamak Davar for a really long time. Do you plan on doing a film that will exhibit your dancing skills?

KM: Well, I would love to do such a film! I haven’t been offered any such film as of now. There’s a promotional video that I’ve done for Ragini but apart from that, I would love to be a part of such a film.

LM: I am sure that your dancing skills do help you emote better in your films.

KM: Definitely. Having been with Shiamak for so long – we’ve done a lot of stage shows. So I don’t get intimidated of the camera or of the people on the sets. That really helps.

LM: I’ve read that you’ve studied journalism and then you switched your career to acting. What made you take this decision?

KM: I used to work as a journalist with a number of publications. I was working with a beauty magazine and co-ordinating a makeover shoot with them. One of the Assistant Directors of Paathshala had come for the shoot and she asked me to audition for the movie. I just went for fun and got the part.

LM: Is it because of this innate love for writing that we’ve seen one of your stories in Grey Oak Publication’s Urban Shots?

KM: Yes. That was my first fictional piece of work. Before that, as a journalist I used to write news articles. When Ahmed, the publisher, contacted me to be on the cover, he found out that I had a background in writing and asked me to write. I got the idea for the story when I was driving one day and I thoroughly enjoyed writing it. I have got a lot of good response for it and I am very thankful.

LM: Your story, titled Hope Comes in Small Packages is one that has touched the hearts of many readers with its plotline of how a mother loses her child and finds solace in the company of a dog. Tell us something about how you got this idea.

KM: I love animals, especially dogs. I have based the dog on a lot of naughty dogs that I have seen. Of course I haven’t experienced the loss that the mother in the story does but I know that dogs cheer me up when I am down. That’s where the idea comes from.

LM: Tell us what is in store from you in future.

KM: Hopefully, a lot of more films that people would like to watch. I don’t want to do films as a sell-out – just for the sake of doing them. I love acting and it makes me feel really alive. I hope that the audiences do appreciate my future performances.