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'Esha is a director's delight'

Esha Deol, Dharmendra and Hema Malini's elder daughter, is making her debut in a Boney Kapoor production. The film -- which also has Jaya Bachchan, Aftab (Mast) Shivdasani and Sanjay Kapoor (in a negative role) -- will go on the floors around February or March and have a start-to-finish schedule.

Vinay Shukla, (Godmother) the film's director, tells us more about the Deol girl.

How did you choose Esha as the female lead for your film?

We approached Hemaji for Esha. She heard the role and liked it very much. She thought it would be a nice debut for her daughter. There was no convincing required on our part. They had earlier approached some film-makers and we knew she was on the lookout for a good script for her daughter. That is how we managed to sign Esha.

What are the problems that a director usually faces when working with a newcomer? Do any of these apply to Esha?

Actually, it's usually a challenge to have newcomers. I worked with a couple of newcomers even in Godmother. It gives me a chance to explore myself deeply too. And then newcomers are like raw clay. You can mould them as you want to. The only problem occurs when they have pre-conceived notions about their roles and films. I went across and spoke to Esha to find out if she had any. I found she was very fresh and didn't have any notions at all. She is a director's delight.

Was she selected because her parents are famous or was it that you noticed something else in her? Is it her looks or is it her talent? Have you seen her performing?

There was no specific reason for choosing her -- really. We heard they were looking for good scripts and we approached them.

Esha's parents are veterans in the industry -- they might have strong suggestions to make since it is her first film. Are you comfortable with that?

If the suggestions are good, then they are welcome. But till today, I haven't had Hemaji saying anything about the film at all. She is very non-interfering. We haven't spoken to Dharamji at all. He has not called us either about the film. I don't think we would have any problems with him. He doesn't seem interfering.

Was the role written with Esha in mind? What kind of a role is it?

No, the script was ready much before we began casting. So we didn't write the role with her in mind. She is playing the daughter of Jaya Bachchan and Aftab is her boyfriend. The film deals with the relationship between mother and daughter, between lover and beloved, between mother and son.

Interviewed by Sharmila Taliculam