Raima Sen is the sister of glam doll Riya Sen and daughter of yesteryear heroine Moon Moon Sen.
She started her career by winning critical acclaim for her performance in Godmother and Daman.
She created a place for herself in Bengali cinema by acting in films such as Chokher Bali and Antarmahal. She started to make her presence felt with small but significant roles in Parineeta and Dus.
Since then, she has been doing both small, meaningful films such as Manorama Six Feet Under and biggies such as Eklavya.
Her free-wheeling performance in Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd opened up new avenues for her career.
Now Raima will be seen in her first glamorous role in an out-and-out commercial Bollywood flick, C Kkompany, where she is paired opposite Tusshar Kapoor.
Raima speaks about her latest glamorous avatar and her balancing act between different genres of cinema.
What made you to turn to the role in C Kkompany?
I never had any aversion to any kind of role. I was getting slotted as a serious actress and wanted to do something different. As soon as I got the offer to play a glamorous role in C Kkompany, I grabbed it. And I enjoyed it.
Could you tell us something about your role and the film?
I play the sister of a small-time don, played by Mithun Chakraborty. But primarily, I play the love interest of Tusshar Kapoor in the film.
C Kkompany is basically about three guys, played by Tusshar, Anupam Kher and Rajpal Yadav, who form an underworld gang called “C Company”. It is an out-and-out comedy and a commercial film in true Bollywood ishtyle.
Is the film, by any chance, a spoof on Ram Gopal Varma’s Company?
Not at all. It is a fun film with a humorous take on three losers trying to pose as gangsters.
How has the experience been of acting opposite Tusshar, with whom you are doing your first Bollywood item number?
It has been good. Since this is my first commercial movie, I knew there would be a lot of song and dance. Tusshar is a cooperative co-star and made me comfortable with all the dance sequences. Overall, I enjoyed doing the film with him.
Did the success of Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd help you be more receptive to commercial cinema?
I think it just helped me get more commercial films. I have always been open to mainstream Bollywood but I think nobody has seen me in that light.
The kind of cinema I have been doing didn’t attract enough attention from commercial filmmakers. Thankfully, after Honeymoon Travels, I have been getting a lot more offers.
What are your future projects?
There’s a film with Randeep Hooda and Arbaaz Khan called Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye. It’s about a woman and her marriage and how she conjures up her dream man and what happens next.
Then there’s a film by Aparna Sen called Japanese Wife, which will be released by the end of this year. Then there’s Mumbai Cutting, with 11 short films, and I have done one with Ruchi Narayan. I will also be doing a Bengali film with Rituparna Ghosh.
How do you intend to balance acting in Bengali films, serious films and now commercial films?
To be honest, I don’t plan balancing my act in different kinds of films. I basically want to do all kinds of roles and work with as many directors as possible. I suppose I just want people to keep appreciating my work.
Who is your favourite director?
My favourite is Rituparna Ghosh, as he gave me my first proper big film with Chokher Bali. I was noticed as an actress only after that.
How do you compare yourself with sister Riya Sen?
There is no comparison or any sibling rivalry, for that matter. We are different and our choice of films also varies.
I think she is more into mainstream cinema and that probably makes her more confident than me. Riya is more of an extrovert than me but I think, in recent times, even I have opened up.
What’s the status of your lovelife?
I am single and enjoying my status as such. I am not in a hurry to get into a relationship and love will happen when it has to.
— Abdulla Mahmood is a UAE-based freelance writer
