Rishabh Deb and Sushmita Jha (BOMBAY TIMES; May 3, 2019)

A doting mother, actress, producer and writer in the making – Chitrangda Singh dons many hats. From garnering critical acclaim in Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, to taking a sabbatical and later producing the biographical sports film Soorma, her career in Bollywood has been eventful. As a mother to 10-year-old Zorawar, her priorities in life have definitely changed over time, but her quest to do experimental roles and quality work continues. Chitrangda spoke to us about films, politics and why it is important to have an opinion. Excerpts:

We have seen you in very few films over the years...
It wasn’t a choice and neither was I being selective. I think it is about the kind of roles being offered to me. There would be a lot of stuff out there that I would love to do, but it doesn’t get offered to me. Sometimes the kind of stuff that is offered to me is something that I don’t want to do. So it is because of this that the audience has seen me in few films. Some people think now I only want to produce and don’t want to act. That’s not true. Once an actor, always an actor and I don’t have any qualms admitting that I am greedy for good roles. Currently, I am discussing a bilingual film with Mahesh Manjrekar, which is in Hindi and Marathi.

You produced Soorma, which was based on hockey player Sandeep Singh. What was the experience like?
Working as a producer was immensely satisfying and what made it even better was the response the film received. The audience loved Soorma. I am so glad that I could fulfil the promise that I made to Sandeep Singh. Bringing his story to the light and giving the audience an insight into his hard work and his life was very satisfying.

In your acting career, you have taken two long breaks. Was it difficult getting back to the screen?
These breaks that I took were not a strategy or planned. There were things that you need to prioritise. But during these breaks, I realised a lot of things. I realised how much I love doing cinema and how much I loved the whole process of cinema. I discovered different aspects of me. I started writing; I have already written two scripts. And I am extremely glad and thankful that even though I have been away, the audience has still been loving and kind to whatever work I have done.

Are you keen on featuring in a biopic yourself?
It would be the most memorable thing of my acting career if I get to play Smita Patil in her biopic. I have been told that I resemble her, and that itself is an honour to me. I would definitely love to do a biopic on her.

A lot of Bollywood celebs are campaigning for political parties these days and expressing their opinion on political issues. Given a chance, would you campaign?
I think it is a very individual choice whether you want to have an opinion on everything which is out there or not. Somewhere, because we are public figures, we can bring attention to important things and issues. We are asked for our opinions because we can influence someone. But at the same time, I don’t think we should have an opinion on everything for the heck of having one. When you are opinionated, there lies a huge responsibility that comes with what you say. There needs to be a lot of balance. But at the same time, you should be who you are. I think it is great that some people have come out and said exactly what they think, despite being trolled for the same.

There are a lot of public figures who also prefer to stay silent. Do you think they have a responsibility to speak up?
I don’t think you should chicken out of expressing an opinion simply because you want to please someone and you do not want to stand by something. But again, it’s an individual choice. If you ask me, I definitely think you should speak and stand by things that you believe in. Fear of something or someone shouldn’t stop you from stating an opinion.