Bollywood actor Lisa Ray shared Indian cinema has shown significant improvement since the time she left the industry in the early 2000s. After leaving the industry, Lisa worked on many projects overseas.
“I don’t like to focus on the differences between industries. Since I left in 2011, the Indian film industry has progressed greatly. I think if you’ve been here for the whole time, you think that some things are not working, and there is always room for improvement. But, I’m seeing Indian cinema after 10 years and I think there has been a huge improvement,” said Ray. “I think we should stop and congratulate ourselves and then keep moving ahead and think of what else we need to improve.”
Ray’s last Bollywood film was Water, directed by Deepa Mehta. Soon after, she featured in many international projects such as I Can’t Think Straight and Let the Game Begin, among others. About what prompted her to make a comeback with the romantic drama, Ishq Forever, she said. “One of the most important things is that you look at the script, and the fact that Javed Jaffrey was there and the producer, Shabbir Boxwala, is a very old friend of mine, I became more motivated.”
She will be seen playing a RAW agent in the film directed by Sameer Sippy. “The character is so interesting because we don’t get to see an older woman in Indian cinema that is strong and independent. I think it’s a different age we’re living in where women are stronger and financially independent and I wanted to play that kind of character on the big screen. It was very exciting for me,” said Ray.
While the actor has no children with her husband, Jason Dehni, she shared, “When I have children, I can’t show my movies to them until they’re older because they’re all serious films. I wanted to do a fun, light-hearted romantic venture which I can show to my children when they’re young and that’s another reason to do Ishq Forever.”
