Ray of Light:  Introducing Lisa Ray.

By Fuad Omar.

The name is synonymous with success as she has achieved so much in so little time. I was fortunate enough to catch her big screen debut in Mumbai itself, the Hindi movie Kasoor before our meeting and so we can dissect the response. 

After seeing the movie I was intrigued by the light-eyed beauty. Her eyes are like green emeralds shining like jewels while glistening in the light of their possessor, yet it is more than her beauty which intrigues me. As I delve deep into who Lisa Ray is, I find what lies beneath is far more than a pretty face. Meeting her in Mumbai as our first conversation and meeting unfolds I watch as a Box of delights opens before my eyes. Dressed in a light purple suit, her hair neatly draping the sides of her curved face Lisa is introduced to me and greets me with a smile, a handshake and from there onwards I begin my journey of discovery. What follows is an encounter with a charming individual who has achieved a lot in her chosen field, an intelligent go-getting charismatic young woman who keeps me company while I am on her turf and provides good conversation in between shooting her forthcoming series Beauty Mantra, which she is anchoring. 

For those who are not familiar with the name, Lisa Ray is the model-turned actress who has a resume boasting of some of the biggest assignments in India, creates a small dash of hysteria every time she appears in public and has made the international arena sit up and notice via a medium fast gaining serious credibility in the UK, Europe and US: the Indian film industry. After the success of Kasoor, her debut big screen venture, she is eager to hear what I have to say about the movie and her performance. As we discuss the audience reaction what mesmerises me is her composure and passion with which she enthuses about her work. She has packed a powerful performance in Kasoor, the latest Indian blockbuster which is packing cinemas across the UK and proving very popular among the college crowd, and is actually more beautiful off screen than she has been presented in the movie (not that she is looking anything less than stunning in the film). The light-eyed beauty is far more than a pretty face and as we begin talking about her background, the interview begins. I tell her how I hear the title associated with her is 'the face that launched a thousand products' as she has been (and still is) an extremely well known and popular model in India and abroad, and ask how the journey has been from her background to modelling to films.

"It's been an interesting journey and I've learnt a lot along the way with no regrets," she says rolling those green emeralds back and flashing a smile, before informing me of her background.

"Basically I was born and brought up in Canada and am of a mixed heritage. My father's a Bengali and my mother is Polish, but I've always had a very strong attraction to India. We would come and visit our family as we have a lot of relatives in Calcutta. But I never conceived that I would end up where I am today." A knock on the door interrupts us as lunch is served, and we are told how much longer it will be until the next shot is readied. She continues: 

"We had come here on a family vacation and during the course of this holiday I met somebody who offered me a modelling job and as I was young and impressionable and also a little bored I said 'why not?' That modelling assignment became the prestigious Bombay Dyeing campaign, which is pretty big in India and to which I may add I was oblivious to when it actually happened! I also posed for a few covers of a magazine called Gladrags which was really the genesis of my career."  As she speaks she remains focussed, and in between eating she carefully ensures she answers all I ask, despite being at work, inviting me to interview her during her only lunch break and being only half through what seems to be a long and gruelling shift. One thing is clear: whatever she does, she does with a passion. 

"I went back to Canada right after that and before anything was released so I never really got a chance to see the response to any of my modelling or ads which was overall very positive. I went back because I was meant to start university but unfortunately due to a very serious car accident I was unable to attend the first semester of school." 

She pauses before continuing, speaking in a softer tone for a second. "It was a very traumatic time and a turning point in my life." "It was then that I came back to India," she continues, and I started modelling on and off, but my career was very erratic as I was commuting between Toronto, Canada and Bombay and I was very undecided about what I wanted to do and so was treating modelling more as a hobby rather than as a career. In the last three years I made the decision that India is definitely where I want to be and I'm most happy, you could say I've become a hardcore Bombay-ite! This is where I want to make my life and I'm very happy here," she says with a smile, as I still recover from the tale of her long commute. 

I recall studying at Queen Mary and Westfield in Mile End, commuting from Northwest London and complaining about the train journey, and here this international beauty who had not yet even begun university was travelling half way across the world to get to work! Looking around the studio's make-up room and the comfortable sofa we are on, the busy people who are preparing the next shot and her assistants who are ensuring all is in place, I wonder aloud what would Lisa Ray be if not the model/anchor/actress she is today. 

"I was always a little indecisive, but I think I'd probably have gone into law because I come from a law-oriented background in that we have a lot of lawyers in our family, or maybe even journalism." 

I raise my eyebrows at the very mention of my profession, she has piqued my interest and it is now my turn to look at her with a smile. 

"Yep," she says nodding her head, "I always had a fascination for words, sentences, novels and writers. Literature was also a strong subject for me in school and so probably journalism." Marvelling at how much this young beauty has achieved in a short span of time what people take a lifetime to achieve, I tell her if life is a journey she has most certainly travelled it well (both in the metaphorical and literal sense), and cannot resist asking where her favourite stopovers have been. Amused at my analogy she bestows upon me a sweet laugh, before continuing: 

"There are many! I guess there have been many turning points in my life that it's really difficult to pick out one, but right now at this point in time I'd have to say this is definitely a very fruitful and exciting part of my life in the sense that everything has sort of led up to this." 

A justified answer given that the many stopovers she has seen have been mostly transitory and this one seems more stable and is one which is a result of the previous journeys and her hard efforts. Whatever she is today she is self-made and the progression has been gradual, but steady. I ask how the shift was from the very diversified Canada in comparison to Mumbai and whether it was difficult settling in. The confidence with which she replies gives me my answer and the excitement in her eyes as she speaks of Mumbai clearly sends a message as to where she has laid her hat is her home. 

"I feel more alien going back to Canada actually because I've been here for three years now. I've really settled in and love it here, there's so much energy and it's a very addictive place. There are definitely a lot of problems and grievances with living in the city but somehow it all just gets into our skin and bloodstream and if home is where the heart is, it's in Mumbai." 

I feel a sense of deja-vu, although I have been in London all my life, I feel a deep connection with India. I can't help but think of the parallel comparison between our lives and understand fully her passion for India and how welcome she feels there. I am to leave for London in a few hours and am already wondering how difficult it will be to leave the City of Joy which has welcomed me with open arms despite being abroad all my life. 

Distracting myself from my own thoughts I get back to where we were and ask how the progression to films occurred. 

"Films happened because in the course of my career I apart from modelling did television, I'm anchoring a show right now on Star Movies, I also did music videos and hosted live shows and am an ambassador for Rado watches as well, so there's a lot of things I've done throughout my career as well. So I was quite fulfilled by these various assignments and I never considered films an option because I am realistic about the fact that it is a big step and something you have to take very seriously. You have to be prepared to put in a phenomenal amount of time and effort and also be prepared to receive the flak which you will inevitably receive! So I was receiving film offers since the beginning of my career but only recently I felt the right opportunity had presented itself for me to venture this way. I guess it was down to fate and the correct circumstances because I liked the subject of Kasoor very much. I liked the script and the cast and the entire unit, and I liked the fact that we all worked together as a team who were driven by our convictions as opposed to something made just to cater to commercial cinema." 

The film has certainly made its mark. A whodunnit thriller with many tense courtroom scenes and an underlying passionate love theme, the film is daringly different from the mainstream commercial films which are usually churned out from Bombay. 

For someone who never planned to do films she exhibits a deep sense of attachment to the medium as I note from the manner in which she speaks of the movie and asks about my thoughts on it, eager for an honest and non-biased opinion. She admits to being surprised at how involved she has become with the movie and indeed the industry, stating she never expected it to go to this personal a level and become something exceeding a standard assignment. 

"I thought I'd just work at it to the best of my ability but I never imagined I'd become so attached to it and put so much emotion into it as I have" she says showing signs of nervousness. I compliment her on her performance as she brims with confidence on screen, with a presence you cannot ignore, and recall the audience reaction to her performance which was very positive at the film's first showing and continues to bring in rave reviews. 

"I was terrified in front of the camera! I was so scared, so any confidence that does come across is a credit to the acting which is thanks to the director Vikram Bhatt and Ashutosh Rana who was very supportive of me and of course the entire team of Kasoor." 

She goes on to mention how she is taking Hindi diction lessons as her voice is dubbed in the movie which was a conscious decision between herself and her director due to her highly anglicised accent. 

She talks about how she is working hard and considering future projects as she has been bitten by the acting bug and wants to work hard to better herself and sees her acting career as an evolving process. Her passion for constant growth impresses me as she talks about progressing in such a positive manner and is working hard to make each venture better than her last that I cannot help but feel a sense of admiration for her go-getting attitude which has got her to where she is today. 

Since I leave for London in a few hours after our interview I ask if she has any plans to meet her UK fans as the film is carrying a great response in England and after having found homes in Canada and Mumbai, I see London as her foreseeable and hopeful next stop. 

"I hope so, I'm dying to come to London!" she exclaims with enthusiasm that would do Her Majesty proud, "I haven't been there in a long while so hopefully I will come very soon, let's see." 

We go on to discuss her off screen hobbies such as reading, a passion for Indian art and hiking (which stems from her love of nature), and I also joke about the things I associate with Canada such as the mounties and Niagara Falls which I tell her is my favourite place. She tells of how the charm has faded for her as she has seen it so often during her growing up years and is finding new things more beautiful. 

Before ending the interview I ask what the future holds for Lisa Ray and how she hopes things will happen from here onwards. "I'm keeping a very positive outlook and realising that anything can happen in life, and if you keep a very open and receptive attitude good things do come your way and I'll try to make the best of whatever does come my way." Somehow I know she will. Her enthusiasm and passion is unmistakable and a dominant factor in where she is today. As I leave the studio I make a few phone calls to London to check on the UK response to Kasoor and it's heavily in her favour. It's as though the stars are slowly aligning as they prepare to pave the way for her future success and I am confident she will be ready for whatever tomorrow holds. 

Lisa Ray is a name you will undoubtedly be hearing a lot more of, remember it well. Quicker than a ray of light she has made her mark, now her time begins to bask in the glow and glory, and deservedly so.