The unanimous verdict of all film critics as well as the audiences who have watched the Hinglish movie Delhi in a Day (DIAD), is that debutant actress Anjali Patil is the soul-cum-cynosure of the movie. It shouldn’t come as a surprise if in the near future, Anjali, with her expressive eyes, sashays into the league of iconic actresses like Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das.
Incredible as it may sound, the slim, dusky Anjali, who has now been singled out by Prakash Jha to play the ‘pretty and tough’ Naxalite commander called ‘Juhi’ in his movie Chakravyuh, was actually a direction-course student at the National School of Drama (NSD). Recalls Anjali, “Director Prashant Nair (‘DIAD’) was auditioning some senior acting course students for the role. But somehow, he chanced to connect with me and auditioned me as well. Guess I was destined to glide into that role,” laughs Anjali.
Not content with just serious, intense characters, Anjali is also game for mainstream movies provided the romantic lead roles also have scope for good performance.
“Being a versatile actress, I refuse to typecast myself and would like to surprise audiences with something distinctly different every time,” shrugs the actress who was nominated for the ‘Best Actress’ (for DIAD) at the New York Indian Global Film Festival.