Acting seems to be an in-born passion for the dainty, dimpled Amrita Puri who plays the ‘odd-woman-out’ Vidya in Kai Po Che directed by Abhishek ‘Gattu’ Kapoor. The bubbly spontaneity and bold, naughty overtures of her screen character towards co-star Raj Kumar Yadav in Kai Po... has caught the fancy of the youthful audiences. Not many are perhaps aware, that Amrita is otherwise an English theatre actress who has previously acted in striking roles in Bollywood movies like Aisha co-produced by Anil Kapoor, and Mukesh Bhatt’s Blood Money . Interestingly, photogenic model Amrita who made waves with her Godrej soap Prakriti ka sparsh commercial co-starring Arundhati Nag, never seemed to have any career inclination towards finance or banking, although her corporate luminary dad Aditya Puri is the MD of HDFC Bank. Quizzed on what were the similarities and differences between her real life persona and her screen character, Amrita wears her dimpled smile with that impish gleam in her eyes. “Like my screen character, I too hated maths while I was a student. But unlike the uninhibited character Vidya, in real life I am not so gutsy and flirty and don’t have those coquettish skills,” laughs the Leo girl who loves sleeping, which she feels is the secret of her charming looks.
Had Amrita read Chetan Bhagat’s novel on which the movie is based? “Yes, of course I did read it, after I signed on the movie. But the major credit of bringing my character to life with all its ethnic nuances goes to director Gattu. In fact, he casually met me at a party where he came up to me and said I would be the ‘perfect choice’ for his character Vidya. Apparently, he had not watched my two previous movies so he inquired what I was doing,” shrugs the actress whose secret aspiration is to act opposite Ranbir Kapoor.
Wasn’t she unnerved by the fact, that she was the ‘akeli ladki’ amongst an all-male cast? She reacts, “Rather, I felt privileged because I was pampered with all the attention. And my well-defined role stands out because I am the only female in the lead.”
Was it tough to step into the shoes of a go-getter Gujju girl? “It was a creative challenge, which I willingly accepted. In order to add authenticity, I did practice a lot for my garba dance steps and movements during that Shubhaarambh traditional dance song situation”, signs off the outspoken Amrita, who is already on her star trek.