"It shows that I am nude" - Neetu Chandra

Neetu Chandra has done a bathing scene in Jagmohan Mundhra's Apartment which is reminiscent of Smita Patil's 'bathing in the slums' scene in Chakra. Although that was an outdoor shot, this one is inside a bathroom. Neetu talks about the daring scene. Read on...

Your first reaction on learning about the bathing scene?
When Jagmohan was narrating the script to me he had said the bathing scene might be an option but if I decided to shoot it, he would present it aesthetically and allow me to call the shots. He added that if I didn't like the scene or had a problem with the way it looked afterward, it was my call to have it edited out.

Did you ensure that least number of people were present when you shot the scene?
Yes. The only people present were Jag sir, cameraman Uday Tiwari, my assistant and the EP Krishna Banerjee.

Were you awkward or uncomfortable?
I went about it very professionally. Initially, I was nervous but later, after seeing the scene and the way it was shot, I am confident it will go down well. They also showed me Tanushree's shower scene with Rohit in her lavish apartment and then there is my bathing scene in a run-down broken bathroom. I am sure there will be comparisons.

Have you seen Smita Patil's Chakra bathing scene? Might be comparisons to that too.
I knew that Smita Patil had done a similar bathing scene in Chakra. I have been compared to Smitaji since Traffic Signal but it's not fair to be compared to anyone. She was a legend. We all look up to her. If I can be even one per cent of what she was, my life is set.

Were you really bare, as it seems in the photograph?
Well it shows that I am nude but I don't want to comment beyond that. It can be a trick of the camera too. Do you think any actress would pose for a scene like this without wearing anything?

Does your family know about your nude scene?
My family knows me very well and they also know that I am only answerable to my work and nobody else. I take my own decisions.

What's Apartment about?
It's a contemporary thriller set in an apartment where two people live. I play a girl from a small town who loses her mind when she come to the big city and tries to settle down.