Shilpi Mahapatra (MID-DAY; January 1, 2017)

I was in awe of Bachchanji (Amitabh Bachchan) after watching Zanjeer. It was that moment that I decided to become an actor. And so, during my college days, I started doing theatre. I wanted to join the National School of Drama, but couldn’t. So I attended workshops conducted by the Sambhav Theatre Group for almost a year. I would still keep trying to break into NSD, but I reckon it wasn’t destined. So, a friend, N K Sharma, and I started our own theatre company.

It was in 1992 that something that filmmaker Shekhar Kapur said changed my life. He told me to head to Mumbai and try my hand at films. He said that though theatre would satisfy me creatively, I would need the money for when I had a family. And so, I decided to take the plunge. Once in Mumbai, I started my struggle. It was tough since I didn’t know anyone. Luckily, I was called to act in Kapur’s Bandit Queen (1994) as a dacoit. I had auditioned for the lead role, which ultimately went to Nirmal Pandey.

After Satya (1998) released, there was no looking back, until a few year ago when I injured myself. For two years, I had to lay low and read false media reports about me. Everyone had written me off and I lost many projects. I was down to my last penny. And then Prakash Jha offered me Raajneeti, and subsequently, Aarkshan. It was the most challenging phase of my life, but it made me stronger and wiser.