'The Disguise' actress Adriana Grigoriev: Grew up dancing on Indian music; wore grandmother's curtains as sarees

Director Sandeep A Varma recently released his short film 'The Disguise' that shines a light on the unflattering sides of society. There, bringing the filmmaker's vision and writer Riya Mukherjee's story to life is actress Adriana Grigoriev.
In an interview with ETimes, the actress spilled the beans about working on the short film, its relevance in present-day scenarios, her love for Indian culture, songs, films and more.
Adriana, who has featured in multiple film projects and will soon be seen in a television series, shared her experience of working on ‘The Disguise’, and what makes it different from her other projects. She said, "With 'The Disguise', I was conscious of the responsibility I had in my hands. I felt a real sense of urgency because I was telling a story that resonates with thousands of other lives that don't necessarily get all the respect. After all, they are being judged. All I wanted was to be able to make space for that well-deserved dose of respect to the lives and stories of Muslim women around the world."

With various social movements against injustices taking shape around the world, she shared her thoughts about the relevance of the short film's underlying theme of 'identity' while taking on issues of prejudice and racial intolerance. Grigoriev said, "It is crucial and fundamental because the world is massacred by arrogant and unhealthy governmental systems. It is our right and duty, those who create and promote art, to speak about what is not right and about what is supposed to be changed. Especially now with technological advancement, where we can access instant live news about what is happening in the world, this growing trend which promotes hatred and instability is hard to fix. 'The Disguise' might be a small grain of sand but can comfort a massive number of lives and transmit that warm comfort which talks about acceptance and awareness."
In the short film, Adriana will be seen playing the role of a girl battling with her identity. When asked how her views on society change since looking at it through the eyes of a Muslim woman, she said, "In my case, not much has changed because I have always been curious about Islam. I had even started writing a project which partially talked about the feminine Muslim identity. I have always been positively intrigued and amazed to study the diversity of the world."

With the film now playing exclusively on TimesOfIndia.com, Adriana is confident that it will fan the flames of curiosity. "Curiosity to find out more about what is different between us in terms of culture and customs," she says.
As this film is viewed from the perspective of two women, we asked her to share her thoughts on the role women have in shaping culture. Grigoriev said, "Women's role in shaping culture is even bigger than men's role because men have had their share of expression for centuries. Now it is our time to compensate."

Although this will be her first film with an Indian director and writer-producer, this young lady is no stranger to the glamorous world of Bollywood. Admitting that her acquaintances with Indian culture, music and films go way back to her childhood, she shared, "I grew up dancing on Indian music and I remember stealing grandmother's curtains and wearing them as sarees. Where I was born, we used to have a very influential flux of Bollywood films which made us be so curious and want to learn many languages and see the world for its beauty."
She also shared that she appreciates late actor Irrfan Khan's career and although Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone may be among the most famous Bollywood stars, she says, "My favourite actress is Ulrika Krishnamurti."

As far as her favourite Bollywood film is concerned, she says it is the Shekhar Kapur's political-drama 'Bandit Queen', however, the Wes Anderson film 'The Darjeeling Limited' set in India ranks high among her favourites.
While acknowledging Bollywood's "enormous power to change and help redirect thinking," she plans to explore opportunities in the British and Hollywood film industries. "If I could time travel I would love to work on any film by Federico Fellini, Jean-Luc Godard or Charlie Chaplin. At present in a film by Derek Cianfrance, Nicolas Winding Refn, Tim Burton."
A film with Oscar winners Alicia Vikander and Marion Cotillard also features on her wish list, she says.