Asha Bhosle to make her big screen acting debut in Maaee

Talent is a strange thing. It often makes the talented do things that the world looks at and says, "Why?" Or "Why now?" Talent often has no answer other than to say, "Well, it just felt right." And so you see artistes often branching out into fields other than their own, sometimes related to what they acquired fame in, sometimes not really related. So Tagore took up painting at a later stage in his life leaving an indelible mark on the field, actors like Aamir Khan and Robert Redford decided to direct. And now it is that living legend Asha Bhosle - whose voice has been instrumental in shaping the characters that actresses were trying to portray on screen - has decided to step in front of the camera herself.

Perhaps the signs of her acting ability were already seen in her music videos and even her on-camera interviews. No one who has seen Ashaji in her music videos can deny that she has an irresistible magnetism and undeniable charm on camera. It is that magnetism and charm that made producer Nitin Shankar decide on Ashaji as the perfect person to embody the title role in his debut Hindi Feature film Maaee. The film tells the poignant tale of what happens when a woman is abandoned by her only son and then goes to live with her daughter and son-in-law. It is a complex role, but director Mahesh Kodiyal has no doubt that Ashaji will be able to pull it off.

When asked what it was that drew her to make her big screen acting debut, Ashaji said in her inimitable style, "Well, to start with, it was something that I hadn't done so far. My fans know very well that I do whatever my heart says is good to do. And the moment this story was narrated to me, I connected so very strongly with it as a mother and a human being even though it was so far removed from my own life and experience. I knew then and there that there was no way I could let the opportunity to essay this character pass me by." It also added to her comfort that in this touching story of a mother-daughter relationship in the present day, the critical role of her daughter was being played by Padmini Kolhapure, not only another well regarded actress of Indian Cinema, but also someone she has worked with and knows well and last but not the least her son Anand Bhosle who felt that the script was great and whose opinion she trusts immensely.

Maaee goes on the floor in April this year and will be shot entirely in Mumbai. Ashaji is already bubbling with the creative energy that she brings to everything that she touches.