After the success of Hate Story 3, Zareen Khan will be seen in another sequel — Ananth Mahadevan’s Aksar 2. The actress, who visited Sakal Times office last week with her co-star Gautam Rode, said that it’s a mere coincidence that she is being part of one sequel after another. “I would call it luck. I am being offered another franchise film. I feel I’m just plain lucky, and maybe the makers feel the same. Honestly, when I am doing a franchise film, I don’t really think about the previous film because I don’t want to carry that baggage,”said the actress who is also part of Vikram Bhatt’s franchise film 1921, which Zareen claims has a different storyline.
Aksar 2, which is a sequel to the 2006 hit Aksar, also stars Abhinav Shukla and is set to release on October 6. Talking about her character, the Housefull 2-fame actress said, “I play a girl called Sheena, who believes that if she gets this particular job, all her problems will be solved. But she gets into a mess because of the job. After a point she realises that there is no way out but she still gets out of the situation with her courage and will power.”
Zareen, who made her debut with Salman Khan-starrer Veer, said that there was no way she could not have done the film because the story is very strong. “In addition to that, the film revolves around my character, so I am getting to play a very important role. I am also playing the solo female lead after a long time,” she added.
She said that her character has different shades in the film just like everyone else in the story. “Everyone in the film is the victim and the schemer.”
Even though her co-star Gautam, while interacting with ST on previous occasion, had refused to call Aksar 2 a bold film, the latest music video starring Zareen and Abhinav has raised eyebrows because of the steamy scenes in it.
“It’s a situational song, which is a very important turning point in the film. The song is sensuous by itself and the lighting during the shoot has done the trick. Each one of us had decided that we won’t cross the line so there’s no kissing scene in the song. We wanted our families, youngsters and the older generation to watch the film,” said Gautam, to which Zareen added, “That’s the reason we have been saying that it’s not an erotic film. It has shown me kissing my boyfriend which is no big deal. No matter what kind of film we see, kissing is a regular feature in it.”
The actress further added, “When a kissing scene is shown in a comedy film or a big actor is doing it, we ignore or appreciate it.
But when a kissing scene is part of a thriller, we term it as bold.”
When asked about the experience of working with each other, Gautam said that Zareen is a natural and spontaneous actor,.“And as an individual, she is nice and straightforward. She has told me that she gets into trouble because of that,” he added. Zareen, on her part, said, “Gautam is a household name and my mom is a big fan of his. I had not met him before working in the film and even though he is new to films, he brings in a lot of experience from television. There’s lot to learn from him. He is a disciplined person, which I am not.”
Asked if the perception about her in the industry and among her fans has changed after the success of Hate Story 3, Zarine replied, “I don’t know about the industry, but I have gained a lot of fans. People have liked my work in the film.”