Auritra Ghosh, who brought two long-lost friends together in the Google Reunion ad campaign, will soon be seen in an independent film M Cream. She tells Deepali Dhingra why she would love to essay roles that pull her out of her comfort zone

Chances are, you have seen this lady helping her grandfather residing in India to meet with his long-lost friend from Pakistan after ages in the Google Reunion ad.

Auritra Ghosh, the young lady in the commercial, has appeared in the film Love, Break-Ups, Zindagi, but she can't help but agree with us when we ask her whether there are more people on the street recognising her because of this commercial. `That's true, they are. But then, it's unfair to compare the two as the film released in India in theatres and was available on DVDs abroad, but YouTube is worldwide, so exposure is huge,` she says.

Born and brought up in Delhi, Auritra began her tryst with the performing arts when as a teenager, she decided to pursue kathak. `Over the years, I learnt jazz, ballet, modern and contemporary dance. I started working with the Performing Arts Academy and even did a bit of theatre during that time,` she says. But in 2010, she decided to shift base to Mumbai, to expand her horizons. `I've grown up with the performing arts being an integral part of my life.

I was always the one taking part in dance competitions, elocutions and plays during my school days. But it was in college that I realised I want to do more as an artiste. Right now, I want to act and that's what I'm focusing on. Tomorrow, I might want to direct or produce a film. It's the ever-evolving creative process that I always want to be a part of,` says the Bengali beauty.

Auritra believes that as someone with a background in performing arts, she has an advantage over actors. `If you know dance, then you already know how to emote and express. In Indian context, we talk about the nine navrasas -- elements of expression -- which are common to both theatre and dance. Anyway, all good artistes are required to dance, act and sing and all these forms of art go hand-in-hand. If you have faced one medium, stepping into the next becomes that much easier,` she says.

Next on her plate is an independent feature film titled M Cream, a coming-of-age movie about four friends on a road trip. Auritra essays the role of Meghna, a character, which in her own words, pulled her out of her comfort zone. `Meghna has a lot of grey shades.

She is somebody who's pretending to be something she's not. You will either love her or hate her,` says Auritra. The actor believes that roles, which require her to be herself, is not what's on her mind. `People tell me I look so sweet and innocent but I want to tell them 'No, I can do much more than that!'` she laughs.