Coming back stronger

It may take a day, it may take a month or it may take a year but what is meant to be will finally find its way to you’ is a quote hinting at the fruits that patience brings. Mumbai-based Natasha Doshi took her initial steps in Malayalam with films like Hide and Seek and Mantrikan that did not exactly set the screen on fire. She went on to do some more films but they too did nothing for her acting career. A lesser mortal would have been disheartened  by the entire experience but Natasha is made of sterner material. For one, she has an alternate career to fall back on. She is now Dr. Natasha Doshi – a dentist.

She used the enforced interlude between her initial Malayalam films to study and earn herself a degree. But the actor, who started off as a child artiste, did not want to let go of her acting dreams without a fight. That’s how round two started and she decided to make a comeback through the upcoming Malayalam film Cappuccino. 

Apart from films, Natasha also keeps herself busy with modeling, TV shows and ads in Tamil and Malayalam. So what is a Mumbai girl doing in Mollywood? Pat comes the reply, “My mother is a Malayali and that makes me a half-Malayali. I can understand Malayalam but conversing is difficult.

Natasha candidly divulges that Cappuccino was not a project she was confident of in the beginning. “I was hesitant because I wanted to return with a movie with a known cast but the director of Cappuccino — Naushad — floored me with his professionalism,” she reveals. 

Natasha also had to go through two auditions before she was confirmed for the role of the simple character named Janaki. About Janaki, Natasha explains, “Janu is someone who loves her husband a lot. She married against the wishes of her family because she is a Hindu and her husband is a Muslim.” The film also portrays how a joke can lead to major complications and touches on the misuse of social media. 

Language is definitely not a barrier for this actor Natasha is acting in a Chinese television show that loosely translates as Oceanic Silk Route in English. She plays the Queen of India in the first season that has established Chinese actors in the cast and a well-known director at the helm. Talking about the story line, she says, “It is about China trying to form an Asian Union much like the European Union, to better ties with its neighbours.” She has fond memories of her travel to China and the well-organised crew and cast of the TV series. She will be seen in a Bengali film and is ruminating over some Mollywood projects.