Mahie Gill says she has struggled to break the stereotype of playing similar versions of a "sensuous" woman, with many in the industry refusing to see her in any other light.

Gill got a breakthrough with Anurag Kashyap's Dev D in 2009 as Paro in the modern take on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's Bengali novella Devdas. The actor, 44, found further acclaim in filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia's Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster series. While Gill gained popularity for her role as Madhavi Devi, a scheming wife aiming for power, the actor said people couldn't see beyond her "sarees and wine" in the film.

"There was a phase when I was just being offered sensuous roles. It was terrible. Everybody wanted me to play biwi, wearing a saree all the time, holding a glass of wine like I did in the film. Not that I don't like doing that, it is nice to want to look sensuous but it becomes boring," said Gill.

Gill will next be seen in director Ashok's Durgamati, slated to premiere tomorrow, where she plays a "strong, powerful role" of a CBI officer. "When I met the director, I wore a shirt and a pair of jeans. The moment Ashok sir saw me, he said, 'This is exactly the look that I want.' I come from an army background, so I knew the body language of the character," she said.

Durgamati is the Hindi remake of Telugu horror film Bhaagamathie, which featured Anushka Shetty.

Mahie Gill on the mystery man she’s been dating for seven years; on bankruptcy, depression and re-inventing herself with the Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster franchise
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 12, 2018)

Eight years after she bagged the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress for her turn as Parminder aka Paro in Anurag Kashyap’s Dev D, Mahie Gill admits that she’s no longer the same actress the fi lmmaker signed after he saw her dancing at a birthday bash. “I’d left Chandigarh in my 20s hoping to bag small TV roles. I’d read in magazines that filmmakers signed newbies after spotting them at bars and clubs, so I’d hang around them in Mumbai. It finally happened a year later at a kid’s party whose mom was a close friend,” she laughs, recalling her big Bollywood break.

Dev D turned Mahie into an overnight star but she admits she wasn’t equipped to deal with the fame. “I used to be chatty, and friendly. I got lots of film offers, even Anurag signed me for Gulaal, but I was cheated of all my money by my best friend. I was broke and battled depression for a year-and-a-half during which I stopped meeting people and signing films,” says the 37-year-old actress, adding that things would have been different professionally otherwise.

At the time, Anurag’s brother, Abhinav, was directing Salman Khan’s Dabangg and Mahie agreed to play Arbaaz Khan’s wife Nirmala on his insistence. “The film was a blockbuster but it back-fired for me. Directors who were offering me lead roles told me that I’d made a mistake by agreeing to play a tiny part in a big film. One of them even dropped me because I was no longer heroine material after Dabangg. This happened when I was just getting back on my feet,” Mahie continues, saying Arbaaz returned to her with Dabangg 2, requesting she play the character again as it was important to the story. “Since the damage was done, I agreed. They’ve not approached me for Part 3 yet.”

Fortunately, Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster came to her rescue. She first played ‘Biwi’ to Jimmy Shergill’s ‘Saheb’ in 2011 and returned as politician Madhavi Devi two years later in Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster Returns. She’s just wrapped up part 3 of the franchise and informs that she’d been on bed rest due to a back problem, when producer Rahul Mittra approached her for Part 3 and the next month she was in Bikaner filming. “Since it’s an open-ending, there will be a part 4. I’ll play a ‘Buddhi Biwi’ even when the sixth instalment rolls,” she laughs, saying her character is more crazy, seductive and manipulative this time and apart from a thumkawala dance track with Sanjay Dutt, she’s shot a lovemaking sequence in the freezing outdoor with Jimmy with whom she’s done a Punjabi film, Shareek, and a song in Bullet Raja. “He’s so witty, makes a joke of everything.”

Mahie recalls Anurag’s shock when he saw her in the brazen avatar in the first Saheb Biwi... film given that she’d refused to shoot an intimate scene with Abhay Deol in Dev D. “Today, I have matured as an actor. I understand it’s the writing that makes a woman powerful, in control of her body on screen or feel dirty. Skin show doesn’t bother me anymore,” she admits.

But while the Saheb Biwi... franchise has been good for her, it’s also typecast her as a seductress. She’s tired of being offered films full of nudity and call girl roles. “The money is good but I’d rather sit at home than sign a film that makes me cringe,” she says, explaining her long absences.

In 2016, Mahie turned producer with a Punjabi film, Aatishbazi Ishq, which was critically acclaimed but a commercial debacle despite her leading man Ravinder winning the Filmfare Best Debut Award (Punjab edition). “My partners and I lost a lot of money because Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan’s MSG - The Warrior: Lion Hear suddenly released on the same Friday and they booked every seat at every theatre. I was in Punjab where thousands of his followers came on the streets to promote his film and after seeing the producing community up close, I’ll never make a Punjabi film again,” she asserts. But she’s producing a small-budget Hindi film this year.

Today, she admits she’s in a better space, professionally and personally, thanks to her boyfriend of seven years who encourages her to enjoy her work and pushes her to choose the right film over money. “I’d love to name him but he wants to stay out of the limelight,” she says, adding that she’s convinced him to walk the red carpet with her if she’s ever nominated for an award.

The couple co-own an office space in Andheri to manage their business in Goa which now doubles up as her production house. “My boyfriend owns hotels and casinos across Goa as well as globally. I was with him when he opened a venture in Georgia recently. Sometimes, it feels like we’re in a long-distance relationship as he travels a lot,” she sighs. “But whenever he’s in Goa, I move there as both of us own properties there,” she says. Is marriage on the cards? “Not this year,” she signs off.