As she straddles two cultures, model-turned-actor Amrit Maghera confesses she is quite beginning to enjoy the best of both worlds
Mitali Parekh (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 8, 2015)

In the last years of the 2000s, you couldn't escape Amrit Maghera's face. She loomed over the city from hoardings, she infiltrated your homes with her many television commercials and shone on the ramp. The face of India's largest cosmetic company (Lakme), her rise was quick, especially for someone who had come to India from the UK as a backup dancer with 30 others.

And then in 2012, she went back home to London. There were rumours of drug addiction, rehab and an affair with a high-ranking official from within the brand. "That's rubbish," says Maghera, who is now 32. "I am completely against drugs. I was getting acting offers and I wanted to work internationally. So I went back to London to study acting." Three years on, she's coming back as Joanna in the soon-to-release Angry Indian Goddesses.

Maghera acquired from her father her Scottish-English lineage and from her mother, her Punjabi blood and a surname. She knew only her Indian agent when she came to the country at the age of 23. "It was a little tough at the beginning. I was quite young and naive. Some people tried to tell me who to be," she says. "I was told that every time I step out of the house, I should have a face full of makeup and that I should wear heels at all times. I had no family here, so things were harder. I remember when I was chosen to be the face of Lakme, a couple of my model friends turned their backs on me. I guess you meet some immature people wherever you go, but I did make some very good model friends too."

She says, the move back home and the shift to a new industry was challenging. "I had to learn to (start from scratch)," she adds. "I had to queue up for auditions and wait for hours. But though I would have to audition, I would still be recognised in India. I had to tell myself that I was grateful, that this was my life and I had to work hard and be humble." The gift of a mixed heritage is that she looks "ambiguous". "I find it so interesting that in India, people like to make use of the fact that I am half-English and from the West, like the character I played in the [2014] movie Mad About Dance," she says. "In England, the people I work with love to use my Asian roots." Maghera, who had been seen in the Punjabi movie Goreya Nu Daffa Karo, is now on British TV as Neeta Kaur on the daily soap Hollyoaks. "My character in Hollyoaks is very ditzy — she's a 25-year-old barmaid and a step-mom to three children who are her own age. She's so much fun to play as she's quite far from how I am in real life."

Maghera was not hoping to come back to India, but she now feels grateful that she has a career which spans two countries. "I feel very lucky that I'm in a position to be able to go back and forth for shoots and for promotions. Scriptwise and project-wise, I want to do anything that excites me," she says. "Like playing Joanna. She's Frieda's cousin (Sarah-Jane Dias's character in Angry Indian Goddesses), and like me, she is half-English. I am so glad that [casting agent] Dilip Shankar and [director] Pan Nalin cast me. I loved working in a mainstream movie with all these women and no lead male actor."

Maghera's Joanna is someone who seems only occupied with living. "She soaks up every small thing, such as butterflies, the small things in life which anyone else would take for granted," she says. "There was a detailed character sketch for each person and part of this was that Joanna lost her father when she was young. So Nalin and Dilip gave me this diary and I had to write letters to my father at age 5, 12 and so on, as well as many other exercises, to become Joanna. Sarah-Jane and I would hang out for hours and even fall asleep in the same bed because we were shooting in this spooky village in Goa."

Maghera is also a trained dancer and says that she gets offers to choreograph for movies. "It's a part of me, but I think I will tap into that when, say, I am 60. I would rather focus on one thing now and perhaps do movies that bring in all my strengths. I'd like to do an action movie, which would use my dance talents. I'd really like to work with Anurag Kashyap. I've known him for a few years now. He's a cool guy, and I'd also like to work with Vikas Bahl," she says.

BOMBAY TIMES (August 22, 2014)

MID-DAY (August 20, 2014)

If you've heard the song, Kahan hai khuda, from the film, Mad About Dance, and are already in love with it, you might want to know the story behind it. Composed by Saahil Prem, the leading actor and the director of Mad About Dance, this is the first time that Saahil has done the music for a film. In fact, the song has three versions — dubstep, acoustic and a remix — each one of them has been composed by Saahil.

The actor-director says that he explored his musical talent, as he wanted to get the right feel and the right music for the kind of dancing that is shown in the movie. “This form of dance requires specific music. We already had two conventional songs, so I decided to try my hand at something different,” says Saahil. “As a matter of fact, all songs in the film are different from each other. We have conventional Hindi songs plus we have separate dance tracks in the film which are on par with the contemporary international dance scene.”

So what was the motivating factor for the team? “Well, we had no choice but to innovate and think out of the box,” he says. And is he nervous now that his film is hitting the big screen on August 22? “ Nervous as well as excited,” he says, “ and in some ways, also empty. For last so many years I did nothing but eat, sleep and dream about this project. It feels kind of strange now that work on the film is over.”

BOMBAY TIMES (August 18, 2014)

Actor and director Saahil Prem on his love for dance, his latest film and more
MID-DAY (August 18, 2014)

Since the film is titled Mad About Dance, does your character in the film get to dance a lot? Did you have to train a lot for the role? 
The film is about dance battles and I am part of most of those. We reached the UK almost a month in advance in order to rehearse for these dance performances.

Do you enjoy dancing?
I have been dancing since as long as I can remember. Music and dance have been my passions all along and they continue to be so.

Are you trained in any particular dance form?
No, not really. I have no formal training in music or dance... I picked up both on the way.

Hrithik Roshan was the last Bollywood star to make waves with his unique dancing skills in his debut film. Do you intend to do so as well?
Identities are moulds created by people. Hrithik Roshan is a lot more than just a great dancer. As a director and actor, I hope I can do more than just dance.

Who are your idols when it comes to dancing?
I would have to say Salah Benlemqawanssa from France. He is the best in the world and you will see that for yourself in the film.

Anyone in Bollywood whose dancing skills you really admire?
Govinda and Hrithik Roshan. Also, Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit.

BOMBAY TIMES (August 14, 2014)

Meena Iyer (BOMBAY TIMES; August 6, 2014)

International hip-hop dancer Salah Benlemqawanssa, popularly known as Spider Salah, will feature in the upcoming film Mad About Dance.

Says actor-director Saahil Prem, about getting the French artiste on board, “Salah is the best dancer in the world. Having him in this film is the best thing I could have ever asked for."

Interestingly, not many had encouraged the debutant director when he expressed a desire to cast Salah in the film. However, his persistence paid off. He recalls, “I wrote to him for almost a year, but his manager kept sending regrets. Finally, we left for our first schedule in the UK and when one of our main dancers fell ill, I decided to make a last-ditch attempt to get Salah on board. And to my utter amazement, he agreed."

The world-renowned artiste, says Saahil, has not only played an important cameo in MAD, but also choreographed some dance sequences in the film.

Meena Iyer (BOMBAY TIMES; August 2, 2014)

Meena Iyer (BOMBAY TIMES; July 29, 2014)

Eepsita Guha (BOMBAY TIMES; July 16, 2014)

MID-DAY (April 4, 2014)

Despite starring in a film that was centred around Sunny Leone, actor Saahil Prem managed to attract the audience’s attention. Basking in the positive reviews for his role in Ragini MMS 2, the young actor settles down for a freewheeling chat with hitlist …

Your portrayal of a reticent character in Ragini MMS 2 was noticed by many. Was it difficult or easy to go against your true nature?
Satya of Ragini MMS 2 is very different from the real me. I do write but I’m not as intense as he is. If you have seen me closely in the film, you will realise that I only smiled twice in it (smiles). But in real life, I like to keep a smile on.

What kind of roles are you looking forward to?
I’m just going to trust my gut feeling as I’m still at a stage where I am learning new things about myself. Personally, I relate more to realistic cinema, but I love watching all kinds of films. So I would love to dabble in different film genres and play a wide variety of roles...

You started out as an assistant director for Namastey London. When did you realise that you wanted to be an actor?
My parents will tell you that I’ve been acting long before I realised I wanted to be an actor. But I guess the turning point was when I was working as an assistant director. I realised that I wanted to connect with people, tell them stories, entertain them and just make them think. The power to reach out to people and influence them is what attracted me to this profession.

Do you have a ‘godfather’ in the industry? What’s your take on the all-young-actors-need-a-godfather-dictum?
I have an awesome family that supports me unconditionally. I won’t deny that having a godfather can offer me a great start. That said, in the long run, it’s all about connecting with the audience. You either have it or you don’t.

Tell us about your future projects.
M. A. D (Mad About Dance) releases in July this year. It’s an out-and-out dance film featuring dancers, and cast and crew from all over the world. Something like this has not been seen on Indian screens so far. This film means a lot to me and I am looking forward to its release. Besides this, I have been offered a few other interesting projects, but it’s too soon to talk about them now.