A little girl of six loses her beloved father. She watches as her young mother sits night after night looking out of the window, as if willing for her father to return. Her grief still raw, the young mother rises above her pain, slowly putting the pieces of her life together, working her way through to raise her two daughters, six and eight in a small town of Nasik.
The shy young girl, inhibited otherwise, discovers dance and loses herself and her inhibitions when she performs. Today, Sheetal Menon is a gorgeous super model, but the haunting memories of those young impressionable days, keep her grounded, level headed, simple and easy to talk to.
In an exclusive interview with Kavita Chhibber, the girl who has been featured twice on the prestigious Kingfisher calendar and is considered one of the hottest models in tinsel town, talks life, her passion for dance and films, and her dream debut in director Pavan Kaul’s new, much awaited film Bhram: an Ilusion – releasing shortly.
You must have seen a major transition being originally from a little town like Nasik and coming to the most happening metropolis-Bombay!
We moved to Nasik after my father’s demise. I was six then and my sister was eight. I was very close to my father. My mother got a job in Nasik. My father was in the army so before that I traveled a lot all over the country.
It must have been tough for your mom to lose her husband at such a young age.
Life was very different when my father was there, in terms of everything. He was an officer and we led a comfortable life. My mother didn’t have to do anything. There were servants at home and then after his death, life changed completely. It was a 360 degree turn, it was so difficult because there was no body to ask anything. It was very sad. We were in Kerala and my father came to Nasik and he had a heart attack. He was hospitalized and when my mother got the telegram, she just left us and went to my father’s place. When my father died she was all alone for 3-4 days and no body came from my dad’s family. She got back from Nasik, and I didn’t see her face for two days. She just locked herself and our house was filled with relatives, and I didn’t know what was going on. After two days when I saw my mother, her face was all swollen. I was scared to go to her-I didn’t know who this person was. It’s a very scary memory still in my mind. At nights, she would just sit and look outside the window. She used to wait for my father in earlier days like that. It was as if she was hoping that he would come back.
Then it was just the three of us-my sister, my mom and I. It was very difficult for my mother. She sacrificed her whole life for us. She could easily have got married-she was very young but she didn’t. She said I’ll work-I want the best education for my children. When we moved to Nasik, life was very difficult. She told us there’s no body to ask for anything, you girls have to take your own responsibility. I would see my friends, their fathers or parents would come to pick them up and I always used to tell my mother-no body comes to our house, but slowly I adjusted. I think responsibility came at a very early age. I’m happy that today she is with me in Bombay, and I would love it if she would find someone and settle down even now.
So did you ever think of modeling as a career or acting for that matter?
I admired Madhuri Dixit more than anything else. I used to watch her and she was my favorite actress. Somewhere she inspired me and I love watching her films even today. It was my mother who pushed me into dance because I was very shy and reluctant, but once I got into it I loved it. I used to lock myself, put some music on and start dancing, or just put some make up on, stand in front of the mirror and start acting and smiling. Even when there were people I, usually a shy kid otherwise- when I had to perform, I used to forget everything and would be in my own world. I didn’t care who said what, who praised me-even when they said stop, I would continue. Even today I’m the happiest when I dance. I do that at home when I’m stressed and my sister and mother say- She’s completely lost it, but I love it! I have learned Bharatnatyam for 7 years and Kathak for one. I knew dancing was something I always liked and acting as well. Today I can’t think of myself as anything else. I’m happy with my career decision.
How was the transition to Bombay?
It was very difficult. I didn’t know anybody here and it was very difficult to adjust to the lifestyle. I joined Kishore Namit Kapoor’s acting classes. I was in college at that time, and my family was not happy with my decision, especially my mother. I did the classes for one month and then my mother called me back. She said you have to finish your studies first then do whatever you want to do. You are not staying in Bombay, so I went back and couldn’t finish my course. I finished my studies and by that time I had taken some pictures and created a portfolio. A photographer gave me some agency numbers and I distributed them, and when I got back to Bombay I was very clear this was what I wanted to do. I had to convince my family and my brother in law said do an MBA instead but I knew what I wanted. I have been in Bombay for 3-4 years now but it was tough, traveling by trains, struggling..I used to cry and run back saying I don’t want to live here-it’s a fast life, too difficult for me to adjust but once you get used to this life you don’t want t go anywhere else.
Acting was always at the back of my mind, but my first ad campaign was for Clinic shampoo with Suresh Natarajan a renowned photographer. I remember the lady who called me and said your HUGE hoarding has been put up in Marine Drive. I took the morning train and said I’m going to Bombay. I have to see my picture. It was a different high. I stood in front of the hoarding for a good 15-20 minutes watching myself. I still have the picture with me-it was so special I took a camera with me and took the shot. It was everything that would be impossible for someone like me. I don’t come from that kind of a background at all. I didn’t know any body, it was difficult you know in every way to adjust both financially and otherwise into the Bombay life, and for me an impossible dream.
Then I started getting work and thought lets see how it goes. Movies were always at the back of my mind but it helps when you become a known face in the market. It’s easier though in modeling you do your work and come back, in movies it’s a different ball game.
With Namit Kapoor I couldn’t complete my training. I came to Bombay in 2003, modeled for 2 years and then I enrolled myself in Anupam Kher’s academy.
What do they teach you there?
People go there and think oh soon I will be a full fledged actor, if I learn there. It’s mainly to help you come out of your shell. There’ll be so many people around you, they’ll tell you to come on stage, and do anything, make a fool of yourself. Fifty people will laugh at you –there’s literally no escape. It’s a four month course but it’s as strict as a boarding school. You can’t bunk your classes so I was out of a job for four months. They do a lot of improvisations, work on your diction. You have dance classes. They have appreciation classes where they show you films from every genre, teach us about cinema, so that was very interesting. It’s not that in four months you finish your classes and say now I’m an actor-what you learn is something you have to continue to practice in daily life.
Apart from that if you do theater that really helps you. I got the chance to do a play and I really learnt a lot. I worked with people who had been doing theater for 8-10 years and just by watching them you learn so much. They are different today and tomorrow they will perform differently. In 40 days of our schedule, they will never do even the same thing, the same dialogue the same way. They’ll try to emote in 100 different ways. They were so full of energy. It was great fun.
I heard you don’t like ramp modeling not even the Lakme Fashion week where you beat out some stiff competition to get selected.
I started off with print and enjoyed print and ad films. Lakme Fashion week just happened. Half of the industry from Delhi and Bombay and some 800,000 girls were there. It was like a full mela. When I walked in I had no experience in ramp which is a very important requirement for fashion week. You have to have some kind of experience in ramp walking but I said okay we’ll give it a shot. It was very scary. They were calling 10 girls and making them walk and there was a panel of judges including Lubna Adams and they were watching every girl walk. I went with these ten girls and they said okay remove your shoes and I think I was wearing 7 inch platform heels. That was the most embarrassing moment of my life, I swear. I still remember I was the shortest of them all. You need to be at least 5.8 and I’M 5.6 ½. I just thought to myself okay forget everything just walk- so there I was walking with a smile on my face. Out of 800,000 girls they selected about 10 that year and I was one of them. The experience in Lakme Fashion week wasn’t great. It was all chaos. It is an individual preference and I never really liked it. I still remember Akki Narula’s show-my first show-I missed three rounds-they were like- hold your skirt and go. I refused because it was not altered properly. I just wasn’t comfortable. I enjoy commercial and print modeling because it’s chilled out.
It was exciting to do the Kingfisher calendar. Ten days of staying in an African jungle and at night we used to go for a Safari drive in 2005. The 2008 one was shot in the Andaman’s and this is the second time I’m featured in the calendar and really happy about it.
So now you are waiting for the release of Bhram. That must be exciting since you have always wanted to act.
Yes, I just got a call that the director wanted to meet me. I wasn’t prepared and thought it would be just a casual meeting. But the Assistant director gave me 4-5 page script with heavy dialogues. I said okay great, I’ll come back after 10 days. I thought they will give me a good amount of time to prepare and they said no you are to prepare now. I said-Now? You are kidding me! He said-Madam what will you do when you are on the sets. They’ll give you fresh dialogues and you’ll have to prepare right then and there and speak your dialogues. I took my time. I said my first dialogue and burst out laughing. I wasn’t nervous. There were 4-5 lights men, they were shooting and Pavan was right there but someone introduced me much later so I didn’t know he was there. He said okay so would you like to see how you did? I saw my shot-it was really bad. When he asked me I said I didn’t like it-I think it was really bad and he started laughing. He said you are the first girl who is saying that. Don’t be so critical of yourself. After that I met Nari Hira, and he was very professional. He told me what were my strong points and weaknesses. One thing was good. It was not like a film set. Every one was super chilled out. I was praying that my first break should have people I would be comfortable working with and a good team. That’s very important so I had a great time.
What next and what advice to young people who want to get into modeling and films?
Well this line is so unsure, there is so much uncertainty, a lot of struggle also. My mom worries a lot about me even today and thinks I should be doing something else! But I’m waiting for the response to this film and willing to work hard and keep improving.
My advice to others is not to think it’s an easy life-it is not. It is important that you do your homework well, know the right people around because there are good people here and bad people as well. You have to be very careful, and I think it’s very important in your mind you have to be very sure that this is what you want to do- not because some one says go try it. This is very difficult line-you need a lot of dedication, hard work and focus.