'Dance India Dance' fame Sneha Gupta roped in to play 'Tawaif'

Actress Sneha Gupta, who has done shows such as 'Dance India Dance', 'Dil Dostii Dance' and 'Ek Vivah Aisa Bhi' will soon be seen playing the role of a prostitute in upcoming web-series 'Tawaif'.

Talking about the series, Sneha said, "It is written and directed by Mahrukh Mirza, he is amazingly talented and has a strong command of Urdu. When I saw the script, honestly meri band baj gayi. The heavy dialogs made me anxious(laughs). Thankfully, they arranged the workshop so that I can get flawless diction and pronunciation. I must say it was a really challenging and learning experience."

She further added, "I consider myself fortunate to have got this role. The script is quite emotional and the role which I am playing is very strong and performance-oriented."

In the past many Bollywood actresses played the role of Tawaif, did she took inspiration from them? Sneha said, "The eternally beautiful Rekha ji played the role of a prostitute in Umrao Jaan and Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Meena Kumari ji did Pakeezah. I grew up watching them. One of my favorites, Madhuri Dixit Nene also essayed the role of a courtesan in Devdas and Kalank. They all played the role of tawaif's from the older generation on the contrary, my character is from the 21st century. Nevertheless, these movies helped me in terms of body language and dialogue delivery."

The 8-episode series is tentatively titled 'Tawaif' will highlight the plight of sex workers in the country. It also features Rakhi Sawant, Ashmit Patel, Ayesha Julka, Mukesh Rishi, Raza Murad, Asif Sheikh and Naseeruddin Shah.