SINGER-SONGWRITER UTSAVI JHA OPENS UP ABOUT HER FILM DEBUT IN 'GULMOHAR'

THE MUMBAI ARTIST PLAYS THE ROLE OF MUSICIAN AMRITA BATRA ON THE DISNEY+ HOTSTAR ORIGINAL

- DAVID BRITTO

Mumbai-based singer-songwriter Utsavi Jha has now found herself behind the screen, not for a music video, but for the recently released Disney+ Hotstar original family-drama movie Gulmohar. For her film debut, Jha took on the role of singer-songwriter Amrita Batra. She’s even contributed to the film’s soundtrack by singing on the piano-aided “Woh Ghar,” composed by Siddharth Khosla.

In this interview with Rolling Stone India, Jha talks about how she got the role in the film, what she learned from the whole process, sharing screen space with legends such as Sharmila Tagore and Manoj Bajpayee, and more. Read excerpts:

How did you bag this role? 

My director Rahul Chitella was very keenly involved in casting and was on the lookout for a singer and songwriter to essay the role of Amrita. I’m grateful that Rahul and Dilip sir, our casting director, decided to put their trust in me to act in this special movie. Special mention and thanks to NS Padmanabhan sir from Spotify India who recommended me, and [guitarist-composer] Ehsaan Noorani sir who also advised me in the process. I went through almost five to six rounds of auditions before they locked me as Amrita. So, I’d say being a singer and songwriter helped but I also had to audition and train to get the role.

What was it like to be part of this film?