Seema Biswas up is talking about the film she’s shooting for. "It’s called Patang," she informs us. She says that the title refers to the kite festival in Gujarat and the story is about a poor Gujarati family that is forced to stay in an old heritage building.From family drama to a sports film (Chandan Arora’s Striker), in which she plays south actor Siddharth’s mother, and then a nanny in Deepa Mehta’s Stella, Seema will be seen in a range of roles this year. It’s her role in the latter that’s being most talked about as it’s her first attempt at comedy. Says Seema, "From the end of February, she’ll start shooting for Stella, which will be directed by Deepa and her brother Dilip. A lot of directors feel I have good comic timing. But I’m mostly offered roles that are either very depressing or serious and grave. Deepa has cast me in a comic role, but there’s nothing over the top about it.While most actors would give everything to work in a Deepa Mehta project, Seema effortlessly become a permanent fixture in the camp. After Water, she’s not just bagged Stella, but also Komagata Maru (Exclusion), a film about the plight of 300 Indians who were denied entry to Canada on racial grounds. But, says Seema, "The film is on hold and I don’t have the courage to ask Deepa the reason behind it." Meanwhile, Seema is all praise for the director.The actress says she’s scared to look at herself on screen and hardly socialises. And she doesn’t like being recognised in public at times. There’s a hint of dismay when the topic of Bollywood still being appearance-driven is broached. Seema says, "I’m not beautiful and a story cannot revolve around me because of the way I look. That’s the problem in India. But I feel a story is about human beings, not about how they look. I’m not bitter about that and have accepted it. I do whatever role is given to me. I’d advise the present generation to work hard irrespective of their appearance. They should consider my case as an example." As for her personal life, which has always been an enigma, Seema says, "I wouldn’t like to talk much about it. I’m alone and fine."
