Meher’s the Belle of the ball

Meher Mistry talks about taking on the iconic role of Belle in Beauty and the Beast, and how acting has always been her first love

When Disney announced that they’d be bringing their beloved classic Beauty and the Beast to the Indian stage, the question most people had was, “Who will play Belle ” The question was answered in the form of the very talented and pretty Meher Mistry. Having performed to houseful audiences for 10 consecutive shows in Mumbai, Meher took a breather amid rehearsals to tell us about her journey to being cast in the iconic role. We hear that her auditions for the role were not a cakewalk, and she tells us, “I went for the auditions on the last day and it took about two hours for my turn. I had never auditioned for such a big open casting call. I blanked off during my monologue and was extremely nervous Vikranth (Pawar, the director) then gave me a chance to start again, but he wanted me to say the monologue and pretend that I was cutting vegetables!”

Performing the piece and showing off her soulful singing led to Meher receiving a call after three weeks, announcing she’d been selected. Previously, Meher had garnered a fair bit of attention for her ad for Amazon during the IPL. “After graduating, there was this time when I did not know what to do, my uncle ran a regional theatre company and I decided to intern with him for a few months. That’s where I found my peace and belonging and decided to pursue theatre as a career,” she says.

Essaying the role of Belle was the fulfillment of a childhood wish: “This was one of my favourite Disney stories and I saw it repeatedly as a kid, so much so that when I got selected, my sister joked about me knowing the lines already because I have watched it so many times,” she says, and adds that she does have some traits in common with Belle. “I don’t take things too seriously, just like Belle. She has a cheeky sense of humour, which I see a lot in myself too. Belle won’t get bogged down by anything and is much more fearless than I am. She has the spunk and will throw herself in a situation without a second thought, something that I admire a lot...”

Four years into the profession and Meher was as excited and nervous about her performance. “I have never faced an audience this large! There were 2,500 people in the stadium and the feeling was exhilarating, I had chills! Later, I tried not to think of the audience and everything went smoothly,” she says.

“I want to be an actor. I’m auditioning for theatre, films or ads. Ads open avenues for networking but I don’t want to restrict myself to one medium, I simply want to act,” she says, as she gears up for Beauty and the Beast’s upcoming performances in Delhi next month.