Monali Thakur, the first Bollywood singer, bags the Best Actress award at the South- Asian International Film Festival in Washington
Monali Thakur, of ‘Sawaar loon’ fame, who has lately discovered her talent as an actress has won the best actress awars at the South-Asian international film festival in Waahington for her hard-hitting performance as a child prostitute in Nagesh Kukunoor’s Lakshmi. The coveted award makes her the first Bollywood singer to have won an award for acting.
On this ecstatic note, Monali enthused, “ What can I say? It was a bolt from the blue. I thought the movie was forgotten, though the pain and suffering I went through in portraying the prostitute will remain with me forever. Now this award has strengthened my faith in my decision to pursue a double career as a singer and an actress.” She futher adds, “Yes, it has been a well deliberated decision to continue as both an actor and a singer. When I did Lakshmi, the buzz in the singing world was that I was giving up singing for acting. In fact Amit Trivedi asked about my plans. That shook me up. But now I feel I’ve the confidence to overcome people’s doubts and go ahead with both careers.”
When asked Monali, about the songs that are being offered, she says, “ I am in no hurry as a singer or an actor. I won’t accept everything that comes my way. The songs I sing have to have something to offer me. The same goes for the roles I accept.”
Monali, who has already completed her second film, further adds, “It’s a comedy called Mango directed by Abbas Tyrewala. I’ve a completely different role from what I did in Lakshmi. I play a feisty girl who cons three men played by Rannvijay ( Singha), his brother Harman ( who makes his acting debut) and Chandan Roy Sanyal into believing she loves each one of them. After the dark gut- wrenching role in Lakshmi, I enjoyed this naughty comedy.”
She further adds, "I want to be known as a good singer who can act.”
