Sameera outruns Mallika in 'Race'

Dec 23, 2007 Subhash K. Jha

Mumbai, Dec 23 (IANS) Sameera Reddy says she doesn't care, but the fact is she has replaced Mallika Sherawat at the last moment in Abbas-Mustan's "Race".

"Who cares? Roles exchange hands all the time. Bipasha (Basu) was supposed to do my role in Buddhadeb Dasgupta's 'Kaal Purush'. Does it matter? I'm just too excited working with Abbas-Mustan for the first time," Sameera told IANS.

"I'm also quite taken up with the idea of working with Saif (Ali Khan), Bipasha, Akshaye (Khanna) for the first time. And you know what? I play a full-on bimbette in this film!"

Sameera must be a rare actress to be so happy doing a no-brainer role.

"Yes, I am! Because the fact is, from 'Musafir' onwards I'm quite tired of doing serious dark roles. I want to just let my hair down and have fun. Abbas-Mustan's 'Race' will allow that because everyone has a character to play. No one is paired with anyone. It's just about having fun," the sultry actress said.

Buddhadeb Dasgupta too is planning another film with her.

"It's another Bengali film with a peculiar title, 'Me, Yasim & Madhubala'. It's about voyeurism and I play a kathak dancer called Madhubala. But please don't jump to conclusions. There's nothing cheesy about the film. It's a serious study of a woman's space and how it's invaded by technology like mobile phones etc."

So are we looking at a Dasgupta-Reddy trilogy?

Sameera laughs, "Well...dada did compare me with Smita Patil. So there, I'm just happy doing such varied roles from 'Kaal Purush' to 'Race'. I think 2008 is going to be very special for me."

What about that someone special in her life? "It's really funny. But journalists keep making up soul mates for me when I've none. There's no space for any. In fact when someone special comes along that space would be automatically made."

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