They give stuff and substance to a film, and make the other performers look better than they are. Ironically, these actors often end up victims of their own talent, looking too real to appear unique. And, worse, they are seen and accepted as part of the general backdrop.

We have had actors like Balraj Sahni, Durga Khote, Kamini Kaushal, Shammi, Nasir Hussain, A K Hangal, Sanjeev Kumar, David, Pran, Anupam Kher, Raakhee, Alok Nath... And more recently, people like Ashish Vidyarthi, Manoj Bajpai and Mita Vashisht. There are many more...

With performances that went beyond the ordinary, they drew from within themselves and their surroundings to make every performance differ from the last.

We kick off a new series with one such modern star. The very, very talented Mita Vashisht

Mita Vashist wants to 'sell' herself, almost the same way a salesman would a product. That's the term she uses to describe herself, "product".

Perhaps she has tired of being ignored and has now opted for hype to see her through. For hasn't she also been exploring the commercial arena recently, trying to do films that earn her name, fame and money, if not critical appreciation? But within some time of meeting her, you wonder if that trite summary of the actress really does her justice.

Mita has this freshness that hits you first thing. She is over thirty, but has maintained herself quite well. A little aggressive, yes, but that is so much a part of an independent woman. And she still comes out sounding vulnerable at times. She is at this stage where fame and probably money matters to her. She has the recognition of an actress anyway and knows that nobody would offer her anything otherwise.

She is acknowledged as a good actress, somebody who won't do those frivolous, pretty girl roles that most heroines are wont to do. Trouble is, such people generally get relegated to parallel cinema and are quietly forgotten. Mita missed that fate, but not by much.

Her role in Ghulam was a surprise and then one found her popping up again in Mani Ratnam's Dil Se. Ghulam is a hit; she even had a good role in the film. Dil Se was a little disappointing in terms of a role, for much of it was axed at the editing table. But then, ahead lies a role in Subhash Ghai's current project, Taal, where Aishwarya Rai plays the lead.

Coming from the National School of Drama, Mita has taken to acting as a fish to water. She fell in love with the medium when she was in college and decided to take it as a full time profession after she joined the NSD.

Coming to Bombay was the next step though her father was a little apprehensive about it. Fortunately for her, she immediately got great roles to do. Among the early crop of directors who picked her for their films were Kumar Shahani, Mani Kaul, Govind Nihalani and Shekhar Kapur.

Mita tends to get very involved in her roles. She has to understand her character and is known to give it dimensions beyond what the director or scriptwriter imagined. She may have got good roles but those weren't the ones she wanted most. Those she hoped she could do, she complains, often went to someone else. Not that she lacks the killer instinct, quite the contrary, but she is quite relieved she got good roles at all.

"Mita has this mad streak in her. She is a little irrational and gets a little beyond the character. It's very disturbing. But when she acts it out, you realise that she is right in her assumption of the character," says Nihalani, who directed her in Drishtiand Drohkaal.

She is considered by many of her peers as an intellectual who researches her characters well before portraying them. She did a few good roles, including the much-acclaimed Siddheshwari and Drohkaal.

But two years ago, she realised she didn't have much to do anymore. There were no offers, since parallel cinema seemed to be dying out slowly anyway. She switched to television. Mahesh Bhatt offered her a role in Swabhimaan and kept offering her roles in various films.

She was hesitant, as anybody in her position would be. She didn't want to end up doing the heroine's friend or the hero's sister. She wanted to be noticed. She accepted the role in Ghulam after a great deal of self-searching.

Now she thinks she did the right thing and is getting a little addicted to the roles she is getting now. on this kind of film too. And realised that she did the right thing. Now she is addicted. She wants to be up there on the silver screen and is looking for roles that will put her there.

"Mita is a very dedicated. The role in Ghulam was not written with her mind, but she suited it to perfection. She is very involved and I enjoyed working with her. I had no problems because she was Mahesh Bhatt's choice. And she is not interfering regardless of her experience," says Vikram Bhatt who directed her in the film.

"She can change her personality, her speech, her body language, to suit the character. The difference is evident when you see her in the television serial Swabhimaan and her film with me, Drohkaal. She has a tremendous range. And being basically an intellectual type, her approach is also very analytical and logical," says Nihalani, who she considers her closest friend.

These days apart from these acting assignments, Mita is also producing and directing a serial called Gum while dabbling in theatre too. She loves being busy and doing things her way.

In a way, she feels, the break in the commercial cinema has come at the right time. Now she can get good roles, not bother about the number games and get the fame that she knows she deserves.

Not to mention, her age won't get in the way anymore. She believes her confidence in herself will get her what she wants. So what if she didn't get it as early as some others did.

'I think I'll expose if the film was good and the director, fabulous'

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