#NewsBytesExclusive: 'A dream come true,' Eve-Yasmine on debut 'Mister Mummy'
What's the story
Singer-songwriter-actor-dancer Eve-Yasmine Saoud-Easton has had a transformational journey from Harrow, North-West London to Bollywood. And she is just getting started! Eve-Yasmine, who has danced with Tiger Shroff in Heropanti 2 and Diljeet Dosanjh in Honsla Rakh, among other credits, is making her Bollywood debut with Riteish Deshmukh starrer Mister Mummy. What's better? She is in the trailer's opening scene! Excerpts from our interview.
Journey
Eve-Yasmine was active in dancing from a young age
Speaking about her gravitation toward Bollywood, Eve-Yasmine shares enthusiastically, "I was brought up in a diverse community and had numerous South Asian friends." She was introduced to The Shri Academy Of Dance by a Pakistani friend. Calling Madhuri Dixit her inspiration, she recounts experiences of dancing on Aaja Nachle, and the song "defined Bollywood" for her. "Aaja Nachle is my heart," says Eve-Yasmine gleefully.
'Mister Mummy'
'Mister Mummy' happened within hours for the actor!
There is an interesting anecdote about how Eve-Yasmine landed her breakthrough role, one that has "reinstated [her] confidence in destiny." On what would have been a normal Sunday, she got a call from NM Bollywood Castings, who had spotted her at an event a decade ago! A few hours later, Eve-Yasmine found herself in Bradford, where she shot scenes with Deshmukh and Mahesh Manjrekar!
On the team
'There was no time wasted on the set,' recounts Eve-Yasmine
Sharing her experience about working with a "talented cast and crew," she says that the entire team was "warm, professional, and super-efficient." "There was no time wasted." Calling Manjrekar an "institution," she says, "It was amazing to see the way he transformed within minutes in front of the camera." She also recalls "sharing giggles" with an "extremely humble" Deshmukh who "made [her] feel comfortable."
Experience
Helmer Shaad Ali ensured that 'everything went on without disruptions'
"I was thrown in the deep end and couldn't meet [the actors] pre-shoot, but even in between shots, they constantly checked on me and it was fantastic to see them in action." Describing director Shaad Ali as "calm" and "humble," she credits him for ensuring that "everything went on without any disruptions." "This entire experience is a dream come true for me," says Eve-Yasmine.
Linguistic challenges?
Tough to work across languages? Not for Eve-Yasmine
Something particularly exciting swims to the surface while looking at the singer-actor's oeuvre. Her work isn't restricted by countries or even linguistic barriers, and she has worked in the Hindi, Marathi, Pakistani, and Punjabi industries. On being asked if linguistic challenges ever bogged her down, she shares, "Not really. I come from a multilingual family and was always encouraged to be a polyglot."
Differences on sets
'No film set is the same,' informs the singer-songwriter
Further elaborating on her experience of working in diverse industries/cultures, she admits that "there's always something different on each set" and "everyone brings something different." "No film set is the same, you learn something new each time." Eve-Yasmine is currently also taking Hindi lessons to polish her command of the language so that it can further open more promising avenues for her.
Future plans
Eve-Yasmine has a meatier role in 'Ganapath'
Expressing her desire to "go to the top," she spills beans on her plans. She has recently signed her first Marathi film Baap Manus and is also awaiting the release of her next Bollywood venture Ganapath where she is playing Palestinian actor Ziad Bakri's wife. She also draws inspiration from Nora Fatehi, and like her, wants to try her luck in Hindi reality shows!