Mumbai: Having started her career at a time when complex and layered characters for women were a rarity, actor Lisa Ray is happy to be a part of the shift in the cultural conversation and storytelling.
Ray, who plays a superstar reluctant to come out of the closet in Four More Shots Please, said that she found the story compelling.
"Everything about the project resonated with me. The fact that it's female-led, female-centric, the themes and issues that are addressed, the fresh cast and of course the role of Samara Kapoor, an over the hill star," Lisa told PTI in an interview.
"It's not lost on me that at 48 and a veteran of many cultural phases in India, the opportunity to tap into the current zeitgeist is an unusual honour. When I started in the '90s, these roles for women were a distant dream in India and I had to leave (the country) to find good content," she said.
Lisa said she was happy to notice that people accepted it as a love story and without labeling it, which is how she also approaches her characters.
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"I don't label my characters as an actor. I am simply taking on the role of wonderfully complex women. And that's how I approached Samara as well," she said.
Samara is the lover of one of the four main leads, Umang Singh, played by Bani J.
"The feedback I receive on #Umara (Samara and Umang) is that the relationship is so beautifully normalised and not played up as anything but two complex, sensitive people trying to make their relationship work,” Lisa added.
She stated that sophomore season is deliciously subversive, entertaining and emotionally compelling, which appeals to a large segment in the audience if not everyone.
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She said: "We are experiencing a shift in the cultural conversation. I do believe the audience is ready and there is an audience. You can't possibly appeal to every demographic in India and we're not trying to do it with."
"We're staying true to our world. It's a very entertaining show that is reflecting the lives of independent, working, urban young women and as Rangita had explained when we first met... we don't see these characters explored enough in mainstream content in India," she added.
Lisa considers that streaming platforms have helped to promote interesting content, especially for women, something which wasn't prevalent in cinema.
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"Digital platforms are paving the way to more varied, risky and nuanced story-telling," she said.
Over a period of time, Lisa believed that she has become a fearless actor as she focuses more on the process of creating a character.
"My takeaway (from any project) is to really let go and surrender. I suppose it's an expression of where I am in my life as well. Having lived through cancer, through so many ups and downs, I'm not particularly attached to attention or success- it's lovely if it's there, it's fine if it's not- but I invest in the process," she said.
"I'm a much more fearless actor now and have stared down my mortality. I know that sounds dramatic - maybe that's the Samara (her character in Four More Shots Please) in me speaking," she added.
With inputs from PTI.
