I share camaraderie with Vidya, says Raima

Mumbai, Sep 11 (IANS) Actress Raima Sen says she and her "Parineeta" co-star Vidya Balan get along like a house on fire.

"We are still in touch and share a great camaraderie. I have many friends and she's one of my closest friends in the industry. We catch up whenever time permits," Raima said.

Raima is playing an important role in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's "Eklavya", which again has Vidya in the main lead, reports Bollywood Trade.

"Vidhu has made beautiful films in the past. I play a small but a significant character in 'Eklavya'," said Raima, who has several films lined up for release.

Apart form "Eklavya", which stars Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt and Saif Ali Khan, Raima will be seen in an interesting cameo in Mani Shankar's "Mukhbir" in which she plays Sammir Dattani's love interest.

"I play a simple girl next door in this film. Sammir is a (police) informer and only opens up to me since I'm very innocent and the only one who's not aware of what's happening."

"Eklavya" will be followed by "The Bong Connection", which depicts the culture clash experienced by non-resident Indians (NRIs), and will release by the end of this year.

"It's the first Bengali crossover film I'd say. It's about Bengali NRIs and Bengali culture and traditions."

Raima is doing a guest appearance in Rituparno Ghosh's "Sunglass" and her other Bengali films include "Khela" and "Anuranon" also starring Rahul Bose and Rajat Kapoor.

"'Anuranon' means resilience and is about relationships. All my films including this one should release some time after October."

"As for Farhan Akhtar's 'Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd', Kay Kay and I play a Bengali couple. It's basically about six couples who are on a honeymoon to Goa," she enthused.

Apropos the hullabaloo surrounding her grandmother Suchitra Sen, she thinks collecting the award personally should not be any criterion for giving awards.

"I personally feel if you want to give an award, you should just give it. My grandmother has become a recluse so why do you want to pull her out of her privacy to give away the award?"

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