Jaago: Raveena's wake-up call

Her stint as a producer in Stumped received indifferent response. Raveena Tandon, however, is least perturbed. Currently, the actress is filming Mehul Kumar's Jaago.

The film is based on a real-life incident that took place a year ago, when a mentally challenged minor was raped in Mumbai's local train compartment. The four other passengers in the compartment acted like blind spectators to this tragedy. One of them was a journalist.

After playing author-backed roles in films like Daman, Agni Varsha and Satta, Raveena will once again play a strong character in Jaago. Like Bhoot and Darna Mana Hai, this film too will not have any song-and-dance sequences picturised on the cast.

When the actress heard Jaago's script, she liked it instantly. Raveena says she is trying to do one hard-hitting film for every two commercial films that she does. In Jaago, she feels her character offers ample scope to perform.

"We are trying to bring this real-life horror to the screen. In Jaago, I am playing the girl's mother. I didn't meet that girl because [in reality] she is an orphan. I am going to portray the character in my own way. Like I did in Shool, where my daughter dies. This film shows how an incident affects our life. How we fight to get justice," she says.

This is not the first time Raveena is working opposite Manoj Bajpai. The two worked together in E Niwas's Shool and Rakesh Mehra's Aks. "We are very comfortable and share a good understanding, which is important while working in real-life based hard-hitting films. As a professional, the tone is well set."

Her other co-star in Jaago, Sanjay Kapoor, is a very good friend, says Raveena. "We have known each other before I joined the film industry. We are family friends," she says.

Raveena adds that she had signed a masala film with Mehul Kumar earlier, which got shelved for unknown reasons. The actress likes his style of filmmaking, particularly as far as social dramas like Krantiveer are concerned.

Her forthcoming assignments include Madhur Bhandarkar's Aan, Kundan Shah's Ek Se Badkhar Ek and Sangeeth Sivan's Sandhya.

"Madhur and I are trying to make a commercial film with Aan. It is very different from Satta. Sandhya is also a commercial film. It's a psychological thriller and an unusual murder mystery. I am playing doctor in the film who helps Jackie Shroff solve murder cases."