Monica
Dogra
comes
across
as
one
of
those
women
who
I
usually
bumped
into
London's
Tube
station
while
I
used
to
travel
to
work.
She
is
confident,
street
smart,
versatile,
quite
mature
and
yet
sensitive…
I
missed
self-confident
and
a
bit
funny.
And
believe
me;
such
a
mix
is
usually
rare
to
find.
But
Dogra
is
much
more
than
all
this.
A
singer
and
composer
by
profession,
Monica
has
yet
another
feather
in
her
cap
-
actor.
People
who've
seen
her
performance
in
Dhobi
Ghat
at
the
London
Film
Festival
went
out
of
control.
All
in
a
good
way
though.
With
her
dark
hair,
exotic
looks
and
a
touch
of
unconventionality,
Monica
has
nailed
it.
And
even
though
she
is
still
excited
to
let
everyone
know
about
her
front
cover
on
the
Time
Out
Mumbai,
because
of
which
she
got
the
role
in
Dhobi
Ghat,
she
doesn't
have
a
clue
how
her
mobile
will
be
buzzing
in
days
to
come
after
her
debut
film
releases.
Dhobi
Ghat
doesn't
just
bring
Monica
Dogra
into
limelight;
it's
also
the
biggest
challenge
of
her
new
young
career
-
so
challenging
that
she
is
already
being
spoken
about
for
the
next
year's
nominations
at
the
awards
ceremony.
UK's
Harrow
Observer
columnist
and
Bollywood
Hungama's
London
correspondent
talks
to
the
modest
Monica
on
her
debut
feature
which
will
soon
change
her
fortune
for
the
better.
We
let
Dogra
take
care
of
the
rest.
"Mumbai
is
my
home
now"
Mumbai
is
a
concrete
jungle
and
the
way
Kiran
has
shown
it
in
Dhobi
Ghat
is
mesmerising.
One
of
the
most
wonderful
things
about
Mumbai
city
is
that
it's
a
combination
of
so
many
different
things.
Next
to
the
sea
you
have
these
skyscrapers;
you
have
nature
meeting
the
urban
concrete
jungle.
You
have
trees
growing
out
on
the
sidewalks,
you
have
'dhobi's
washing
in
ghats,
and
then
you
have
washing
machines
in
homes.
Mumbai
is
all
about
survival
and
human
emotion
in
abundance.
Mumbai
swings
drastically
both
ways
and
that's
why
I
moved
to
Mumbai
from
New
York
and
today
I
am
proud
to
call
it
my
home.
"I
am
a
very
private
person"
Monica
Dogra
is
a
very
private
person.
But
because
I
am
a
performer
and
I
have
performed
all
over
the
world
as
a
singer,
I
have
a
lot
of
juxtaposition
inside
me.
On
one
half,
I
can
perform
in
front
of
five
thousand
people
and
bare
my
soul
until
all
my
secrets
are
let
out.
"My
own
family
wanted
me
to
be
like
Katrina
Kaif"
I
am
a
singer
and
a
composer.
My
own
family
wanted
me
to
be
like
Katrina
Kaif.
And
all
this
was
difficult
for
me
to
tell
them
that
I
am
not
in
this
field
to
only
make
mad
money.
It
became
difficult
at
one
point
to
make
my
parents
understand
what
I
always
wanted
to
do.
I've
been
asked
to
be
a
VJ,
I've
been
asked
to
model
and
I've
been
asked
to
do
many
things
which
I
said
'no'
to
at
the
result
of
making
less
money
and
becoming
famous.
I
knew
that
the
day
I
could
live
with
myself
and
be
proud
about
the
work
that
I
was
doing,
that'll
be
my
reward.
"Destiny
and
hard
work
has
landed
me
in
my
first
film
with
Aamir
Khan"
Out
of
millions
of
people
from
the
world
over,
I
was
chosen
to
play
Shai
by
Kiran
Rao.
Why
was
I
chosen?
Because
I
was
on
the
cover
of
Time
Out
Mumbai
with
my
band
and
why
was
I
on
Time
Out?
Because
just
like
every
other
person
who
aspires
to
get
famous
quickly,
I've
always
been
very
clear
in
what
I
believe
in
and
an
intelligent
publication
like
the
Time
Out
Mumbai
decided
to
put
me
on
their
cover.
That
was
destiny
and
the
same
destiny
out
in
the
film
with
the
most
respected
actor
of
India,
Aamir
Khan.
"Stand
for
something,
no
matter
what"
If
there
is
one
message
I'd
send
out
to
all
the
little
girls
and
boys
out
there,
it'd
be
-
stand
for
something
you
believe
in
because
it
will
take
you
exactly
where
you
want
to
go.
It
is
going
to
be
hard,
really
hard
but
you
never
give
up.
"My
song
from
my
album
is
going
to
be
featured
in
one
of
the
scenes
of
Dhobi
Ghat"
Aamir
Khan
and
Kiran
Rao
are
including
one
of
my
tracks
from
my
album
in
Dhobi
Ghat
and
I
am
really
excited
about
that.
I
am
a
bit
unconventional
but
that's
what
people
have
started
to
like
in
cinemas
now-a-days.
"There
is
a
lack
of
variety
and
choice
in
Bollywood
films"
Indian
cinema
is
all
about
music.
Music
has
been
a
strong
factor
in
the
success
of
Bollywood
films.
That's
great.
Music
is
the
only
thing
in
Indian
cinema
that
has
versatility.
There
are
lots
of
other
things
that
need
to
be
looked
in
Hindi
films.
There
is
a
lack
of
variety
and
choice
in
Bollywood
films
and
a
general
assumption
that
audiences
will
only
buy
and
only
support
the
standard
recipe
of
boy
meets
girl,
boy
sings
songs
for
girl,
girl
does
an
item
song,
etc.
It's
nice
to
see
people
like
Anurag
Kashyap,
Zoya
Akhtar
and
Kiran
Rao
experimenting
in
cinema.
I'd
love
to
work
with
Abhay
Deol
too.
"Prateik
Babbar
is
the
next
big
thing
to
happen
in
Bollywood"
Prateik
is
only
just
getting
started.
He
has
a
long
journey
ahead
of
him
and
to
debut
in
a
full
length
role
in
Dhobi
Ghat
as
Munna
is
a
dream
come
true
for
any
actor.
Munna
touches
the
heart
of
every
caste,
race
and
every
culture.
The
audience
in
Toronto
loved
him.
Any
human
being
will
feel
for
the
character
of
Munna
from
anywhere
in
the
world.
Prateik
deserves
it.
Prateik
is
a
very
sweet
guy
and
a
very
good
friend.
We
are
always
in
touch.
He
comes
to
my
shows
quite
often
and
that's
how
we
meet
up
sometimes.
He
and
I
were
together
24/7
for
six
months
shooting
for
Dhobi
Ghat.
We
got
to
know
each
other
quite
well.
"Aamir
Khan
isn't
super
egoistic.
He
is
super
smart"
When
there
is
a
huge
Bollywood
star
working
with
you,
you'd
tend
to
believe
that
he
is
materialistic
or
super
egoistic.
Aamir
Khan
came
across
a
super
smart
and
very
down
to
earth.
He
is
attracted
to
alternative
culture.
I
am
very
similar
to
him
that
way.
Working
with
him
was
quite
natural.
He
reassured
me
in
the
most
unforgettable
way.
He
sent
me
a
text
message
after
we
finished
shooting
the
film
that
I
saved.
The
message
congratulated
me
on
a
very
fine
performance
in
Dhobi
Ghat
and
that
nobody
could've
played
Shai
the
way
I
did
and
the
way
she
felt
as
a
character.
Coming
that
from
Aamir
Khan
is
the
most
enchanting
experience.
"Prateik
is
very
good
with
handling
knives"
Prateik
is
very
good
at
handling
knives.
While
we
were
on
Mohammed
Ali
Road
during
Ramzan,
we
had
three
hours
to
kill
and
knowing
Prateik,
he
called
the
street
vendor
to
give
him
the
knife.
He
then
pokes
the
knife
between
his
fingers
really
fast.
That
was
one
of
our
first
encounters
on
the
sets
of
the
film.
That
was
Prateik
Babbar
-
a
simple
guy
with
weird
tendencies.
"Kiran
is
the
driving
force
behind
Dhobi
Ghat
and
not
Aamir
Khan"
Kiran
is
one
of
the
smartest
women
you'll
ever
meet.
She
is
so
sharp
and
knows
exactly
what
she
wants.
Kiran
is
the
driving
force
behind
Dhobi
Ghat.
It's
not
Aamir
Khan
or
not
anybody
else.
Every
character
was
written
by
Kiran
and
the
entire
film
is
her
voice,
her
story.
I
felt
really
comfortable
working
with
her.
I
am
excited
to
know
what
Kiran
does
next
after
people
have
started
to
know
her
style
of
film
making.