Actress Udita Goswami speaks about her Hollywood experience, moving to Los Angeles

‘I’M SHIFTING TO LA’

Actress Udita Goswami speaks about her Hollywood experience, moving to Los Angeles, Mohit Suri and much more

Sarah Salvadore

Now that you are back from Los Angeles, tell us about the experience.

I’ve been back in India for a couple of days and, trust me, I already want to go back there. I had a wonderful time.

So was the trip productive in any way?

Absolutely. I was supposed to be there for 21 days, but I ended up staying for two months. I had a lot of work lined up for me in India. But when I was invited to the Oscar week festivities, which is a big deal there, I decided to stay on. I thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance and that I shouldn’t miss it. Thanks to my stay there, I met a lot of people from Hollywood, hired a manager, a publicist and a lawyer. So it was extremely productive.

There’s buzz that you have become very pally with actor Gerard Butler, who was rumoured to be dating Priyanka Chopra...

Why just Gerard? I’ve made friends with a lot of folks from Hollywood. I’m in touch with them constantly. I’ve discovered that they are a lot sweeter and simpler than many of our B-town people. Plus, I’m not into the namedropping game. You don’t go to a private party and micro-blog your pictures from there — with Gerard or any other celeb. It’s cheap and tacky.

So are you planning to shift base now?

Yes. I have plans of going back there in August or September. I have done my groundwork. I’ve looked at places I could shift to and plan to take driving lessons. My secretary here almost wanted to kill me when I delayed my return to Mumbai because I was having so much fun there. The only reason that I’m back in India is to work on my American accent.

Considering that most of our top actors have failed to make a splash in Hollywood films, why are you willing to take such a risk?

For someone like me who hardly does any work here, I think it’s a good idea to move to LA. The thing that works for me there is that I don’t look Indian. Here, this was my biggest disadvantage because my looks didn’t fall in the Vidya, Rani and Konkona bracket. The kind of roles that I have been offered in Hollywood are of the exotic variety. I could pass off as a Spanish woman, according to them. Plus, there aren’t many Indian roles in English movies. Since I don’t have the typical Indian beauty look and don’t have much work here, I don’t see the reason why I shouldn’t move there.

Back home, your ex Mohit Suri and Vishal Mahadkar reportedly came to blows over you. Mohit has blamed Vishal for his split from you.

It’s very strange. I just got back and here I am reading about this in the papers. It is interesting to know that two men are fighting over me. But let anyone fight. I don’t care anymore.