Durgamati actor Mahie Gill: It was a terrible phase

Durgamati actor Mahie Gill discusses being typecast in sensuous roles.

Mahie Gill says she has struggled to break the stereotype of playing similar versions of a "sensuous" woman, with many in the industry refusing to see her in any other light.

Gill got a breakthrough with Anurag Kashyap's Dev D in 2009 as Paro in the modern take on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's Bengali novella Devdas. The actor, 44, found further acclaim in filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia's Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster series. While Gill gained popularity for her role as Madhavi Devi, a scheming wife aiming for power, the actor said people couldn't see beyond her "sarees and wine" in the film.

"There was a phase when I was just being offered sensuous roles. It was terrible. Everybody wanted me to play biwi, wearing a saree all the time, holding a glass of wine like I did in the film. Not that I don't like doing that, it is nice to want to look sensuous but it becomes boring," said Gill.

Gill will next be seen in director Ashok's Durgamati, slated to premiere tomorrow, where she plays a "strong, powerful role" of a CBI officer. "When I met the director, I wore a shirt and a pair of jeans. The moment Ashok sir saw me, he said, 'This is exactly the look that I want.' I come from an army background, so I knew the body language of the character," she said.

Durgamati is the Hindi remake of Telugu horror film Bhaagamathie, which featured Anushka Shetty.

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