Versatile actor Shama Sikandar who is releasing a series of digital shorts targeting our societal and inner demons, under her YouTube series, Ab Dil Ki Sunn, is open to doing all kinds of roles, be they happy, commercial, or whatever. “My criterion is that it should be honest. As an actor, I want to do all kind of characters and not get restricted by any one label.”
Ask her about her bold online avatar, especially 2016 short film, Sexaholic, where she played a sex-starved girl, and she says, “For me, this project was more emotional. I was thinking about the hell such patients go through (she was afflicted by a certain disease). Even I did not know that such people existed. I did my research and was shocked,” says Shama, who began her acting journey years back, with TV show Yeh Meri Life Hai. Her other very bold web show was Vikram Bhatt’s Maaya, where she played a lesbian.
“Sadly, our society looks down upon s*x as something very bad. Yet, everybody is doing it, as a result of which, babies are being produced left, right and center, over-populating the country. We are certainly the biggest hypocrites in the word.”
“Let’s face it, s*x is a very beautiful thing; some like it more than others. Who are we to judge others? If we do, then we are questioning God, who made them like this,” she adds.
“I really liked doing the above character, for it gave me a chance to do much more as an actor and a human being. I want to absorb everything that nature has to offer me and be truthful. I don’t want to be just goody good or anything like that,” expresses Shama.
Here, she stresses, “I regard myself bold because of my above attributes and not because I choose to show my physicality. I am attractive and whatever I wear makes me desirable.”
“Looking ahead, I want the whole world to love and respect me for the work I do. This is my way of giving back to society. Being an actor-producer gives me the power to be able to convey my feelings through my film. Otherwise it would not have been possible to have door to door conversations.”
“I don’t really keep money in mind when I make my films. The main purpose is to touch people’s hearts. I am already getting there, courtesy, 99% positive comments.” Shama has been part of a few Hindi films as well, such as Prem Aggan and Dhoom Dhadaka.
Her latest short, titled Acceptance, also starring Gaurav Chopra, has just hit the World Wide Web.