Amrita Rao on work, pressure and dating

Actor feels looks matter as much as a performance.

Known for movies such as Ishq Vishk and Vivah, Amrita Rao, is all set for the release of her latest film, Kareena Kapoor-starrer Satyagraha. In a candid interview with the Times of India, the actor talks about how she started out, the burdens of being an actor and how she didn’t date Shahid Kapoor.

Rumour has it that Shahid and Kareena Kapoor broke up because of her, but Amrita begs to differ. “I always maintained silence because I knew that time had its own way of revealing the truth and it has, today,“ she said. Amrita also added that Shahid qualifies as more of a co-star than a friend. “Why should I be uncomfortable facing Kareena?” she stated “We shared a cordial relationship while shooting for Satyagraha.”

Commenting on competitive pressure, Amrita stressed that looks mattered as much as a performance. “While on the one hand the media expects us to be down-to-earth, on the other it does not want us to repeat our shoes,” she said. Amrita also went on to describe how actors work with designers in order to promote both their own images and designer labels. “It’s easier today to get a debut than it is actually to sustain your career.”

Amrita also took a trip down memory lane, talking about how she first got started. “I was still in school when I heard about this audition for a fairness cream ad. I got selected and subsequently appeared in more commercials, resulting in me noticed by Ramesh Taurani and Ken Ghosh. That’s when Ishq Vishk happened.” she said. Amrita also revealed that she had trained in Hindustani classical singing, and her mother wanted to steer her towards a career in playback singing. However, she had always wanted to become an actor. She also gave her parents credit for backing her career choice. “Children, who are inclined to the arts, where income is not guaranteed, need more support from their parents,” she said. “I got that support, and easily proved to my parents that there was demand for me.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25^th, 2013.

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