She reminds you of all the sea-metaphors you can conjure. Delicate as a sea-fern with limpid green eyes that draw you to their depths, this water nymph even wants to lure us with her singing like Sirens at sea.
And why not, after all it's no hardship for her as music is her first love. And the lady even won a popular award for her mega-hit song 'Shakalaka Baby' in a Tamil film last year.
Folks, we are talking about Vasundhara Das. If the name doesn't ring a bell, let’s jog your memory. Remember that innocent chit of a girl who played Kamal Haasan's screen wife Maithili, (the second one) in 'Hey Ram' ?
That's Das, but now in her new avatar as a singer. While we may take time to get used to her singing sensation persona, She is quick to rephrase the actress tag as one of '' an accidental actress.''
Music is what drew her to the Industry in the first place and though it sounds hackneyed, movies just happened on the way.
In fact, in the first leg of her sojourn, the first milestone she crossed was one that saw her as a playback singer.
''I met Mr. A.R. Rehman with a demo tape, hoping that he'd give me a chance to sing for him. He did sign me for Shankar's 'Mudalvan' (where I sang Shakalaka Baby, which also was the biggest hit in 1999 and won me a popular award).
''He also recommended me to Kamalji. I did like Maithili (the character she plays in 'Hey Ram') and anyways Kamalji is such a phenomenon, so I gave it a shot. I wasn't really angling for a film career, I'm an accidental actress. ''
Obviously delighted at the release of her album, Vasundhara confided to a popular daily recently - '' I'm finally doing what I enjoy most - music. ''
Her Indipop debut 'Meri Jaan' (under the Magnasound label) had a January release. The eight-track album has music by Piyush Mishra, Pravin Mani and Sukhvinder Singh.
''This album showcases my kind of music, '' says Vasundhara Das. 'Meri Jaan' has a nice mix. There's a dash of Arabic in 'Mera Nishan', some peppy Latin groove in 'Bolare', the up-tempo 'Aao Yaar' and a soft ballad 'Ghar Mera'. I have tried a bit of Bhangra too in 'Sohni' (which is about the Sohni-Mahiwal romance). ''
Her music video is directed by Shaad Ali and was shot in Agra in front of the Taj.
Vasundhara may appear like a Valentine kiss of sweetmeats but watch out that candy floss softness is a bluff. She's no air head.
Believe it or not, she has a Bachelor's degree in Statistics and Mathematics !
The lady has also trained in Hindustani classical music at the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya.
'' I've been into music since I was just a ten-year-old. I trained under Pandit Parameshwar Hedge of the Keherwa Gharana and was a regular at Bangalore concerts and used to jam at the Freedom Jam (something like the Woodstock fest).
Vasundhara is also a bit of a linguist and can leave you quite tongue-tied with her Spanish. And Yes, she can do the Flamenco ! She strums her guitar when the mood descends and summons her favorite tunes. As for performing live on stage She goes into ecstasies at the mere mention.
'' Last year I did a live show in Dubai where I saw the Arabs jiving in gay abandon to 'Shakalaka'. That's when I was on a high. ''
For those of you who are worried that the Lady has quit acting to pursue her first love - music, Don't be. She has lined up quite a hamper of films for her fans.
Her acting career hasn't been put on hold. Vasundhara's upcoming movies include a delectable Mira Nair venture - 'Monsoon Wedding' shot extensively in Delhi.
In the film she plays a sheltered Punjabi girl called Aditi, about to get married. '' It is one movie worth waiting for.”
She's also doing 'Sangeeth Pushpak' Srinivasan Rao's trilingual, Little John, Citizen in Tamil with Ajith, an untitled flick with R. Madhavan and a film with Abhishek Bachchan.
She lionizes Shah Rukh Khan and it would be her dream come true to do a film with him.
'' I'd like to be like him, juggling two careers successfully and being equally passionate about both. ''
Till she can muster some of that Khan energy she says she'll have to rely on the unconditional support of her parents.
Probe further, and she lets on that they are 'normal professionals'. '' Dad is a CEO of an MNC in Bangalore and Mom's a scientist with the Indian Institute of Science.''
She reminds you of all the sea-metaphors you can conjure. Delicate as a sea-fern with limpid green eyes that draw you to their depths, this water nymph even wants to lure us with her singing like Sirens at sea.