Where Is Banita Sandhu After October?

Why  is  it that the pretty petite  Londoner Banita Sandhu,  seen recently with Diljit Dosanjh in his  music video, has vanished  from Mumbai  in spite of her  impressive debut as  Varun Dhawan’s comtose ‘Signficant Other’ in  Shoojit Sircar’s  October.

 One reason is of course the nature  of  her  role.In our country any actor who is still,inert on screen  is seen as  a non-performer. The effort that has  gone into portraying the comatose  girl in October, with each twitch  of  the eye  and lip medically monitored, went  unnoticed.

And then were  all those spectacular  inhouse female debutantes, mainly Jahnvi Kapoor and Sara Ali Khan  who got  the attention.

Banita  says her performance in October  wasn’t perceived in that way. “I wish  more  people  had seen  the effort that went  into the performance. I have been interviewed where I have been  asked why I don’t  have a full-fledged role  in October. My answer is, “Well, I did have a full-fledged role. I am  glad  my team and I made  it look so simple because  it really wasn’t.”

Right now Banita is  busy with assignments in London. “There is nothing for me in Mumbai right now.Since  I am working in London,  it makes more sense  for me  to be based here than  in Mumbai.”

Banita did  visit  Mumbai recently. “Yes , I went in August. But there was  no work for me at all. I was keen  for something  to work out. I came  back to London disappointed. I’d really love to work in India again  after October. But it seems  there literally  isn’t much  for me  to  do  there right now. So I’d rather make myself more useful here in the West trying more successfully for representation on screen.”
 Banita admits the inhouse  debutantes  in Bollywood eclipsed  her performance in October. “But my biggest  problem is PR. I  like to focus  on  my craft rather than  promoting myself. But even Varun Dhawan told me to survive  in the  film industry you have to be  businesslike. But if it helps me  get work I would consider  improving my PR relations in Bollywood.”

I wonder why Banita’s October co-star Varun Dhawan and director Shoojit Sircar aren’t helping her  take her career forward  after October.