Films I do should reflect my ideas: Vani Tripathi

New Delhi, Dec 20 (UNI) In a scene crowded with 'glam girls' and 'girls-next-door', this actress comes across as different with her constant endeavour to eschew "run-of-the-mill" roles and choose films according to her convictions.

Doing 'glamour girl roles' and 'girl-next-door' portrayals may be the in-thing for majority of upcoming actors as well as newcomers in Bollywood today but actress Vani Tripathi prefers to do films which reflect her ideas and principles.

Infact, it is a "true-to-her-beliefs" role that Vani, who made her debut with Tanuja Chandra's 'Dushman' a few years ago following it up with character roles in Aziz Mirza's 'Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani and 'Chalte Chalte', gets to play in her latest cinematic venture 'Dil Se Pooch Kidhar Jaana Hai', a film that seeks to reignite debate in the fundamental question ''Does an individual make a society or society moulds an individual?'' Set against the socio-political scenario in Mumbai from 1993 to 2005, 'Dil Se Pooch...', which released on Friday, is about two protagonists Avinash and Aliya, whose lives get shattered due to a series of events in Mumbai during the early nineties. After a gap of few years, Avinash and Aliya meet each other again only to find that while Avinash is a police office, Aliya is now a prostitute.

In a situation where one of them (Avinash) has to deal with the system while the other (Aliya) has to deal with herself, living their lives the way they want becomes very difficult. ''Aliya, the character played by me in the film, is a woman who wants to lead a simple existence along with Avinash but the political forces do not allow her to do so. Consequently, she finds herself on the crossroads of life where she has to find strength from within to lead life the way she wants and not according to the whims of few people at the helm of the system. The character of Aliya is in many ways similar to what I am like in real life too,''Vani told UNI in an interview here.

Infact, like her 'reel life' character, Vani too has over the years voiced her opinion against the subjugation of the individual to the whims of the socio-political system where a few persons at the helm of affairs determine course of lives of the individuals in society. For example, she recently represented India at an Asia Young leaders summit in South Korea where she made a plea for not subjugating the individual to the whims of globalisation.

Viewed in this context, 'Dil Se Pooch Kidhar Jaana Hai', a hard-hitting statement about how lives of individuals and their creativity, dreams and aspirations are often a casuality under the prevailing socio-political system, seems just the film to suit Vani's sensibilities.

''The underlying essence of the film is that every country has a life laced with events that affect the social and political fabric of the country and parallel to that are lives of individuals living in that nation. However, as the situation prevails these are not two dissociated realities,''Vani said.

It is the desire to do roles and films that reflect her ideas and beliefs that perhaps explains why Vani's "on screen" appearances since her debut in 'Dushman' have been few and far between.

''Though in the present scenario in Bollywood, it is difficult for an actor to pick and choose a role, I, in my choice of roles and films, try to ensure that my work reflects my ideas,''Vani said.

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