She was seen in several multi-starrers and comedies in the 2000s, be it Dhoom, Rohit Shetty’s Golmaal, Hungama, Phir Hera Pheri and Baghban, but years ago, Rimi Sen disappeared from films and quietly turned producer. Her 2016 biographical film Budhia Singh - Born To Run, starring Manoj Bajpayee was critically acclaimed and won prestigious awards. A decade after her exit, Rimi is now all set to return to acting.

In a chat with Bombay Times, she says, “Acting pays well and gives you immense fame. I could survive for a decade because of my former career as an actress and I will always respect that. People invite you for events and ribbon cuttings and actors get paid well for it. I could become a producer because of my film career, and the work I did in my 20s. All of this was possible because I was an actress and a known face.”

Brutally honest, Rimi admits though that acting wasn’t her passion initially, it grew on her. She says, “I was a classical dancer and acting came naturally to me. It was the only thing I could do. I couldn’t finish my graduation so there were no jobs for me. I enjoyed acting, but I was put off by the fact that actresses were mostly used as furniture in most commercial films back then. Today, you see a blend of entertainment and meaningful content and people aren’t labelling actors or putting them in a box. Everyone can do everything. In my time, there was no creative satisfaction. I quit Bollywood because I was done playing glamourous flower pots in films.”

Rimi adds, “It was boring to be solely used as a glamour prop or be told to take a hankie and fake-cry in the background while the hero took centre stage. I want to make a comeback, not for survival, but be proud of the films I do. I am proud of films like Johnny Gaddaar and Sankat City, which I did, but sadly these films didn’t do well. Thankfully, filmmakers have a different vision now and the audience’s outlook towards cinema and content has also evolved. People are more open to new ideas.”

One can believe the Bong beauty when she says, she wasn’t cut out to adapt to a work culture of diplomacy. Now in her late 30s, the actress says she is wiser. “The biggest lesson that I learnt from my younger self is the fact that you cannot have the ‘my way or highway’ attitude in any line of work. You have to find a midway. Burning bridges every time things don’t go your way isn’t the solution. I wasn’t diplomatic and didn’t have filters. I would say what I wanted to and that’s not how you can survive in any profession. Networking is equally important. I wasn’t good at it. Of course, throughout my limited career, I did make some good friends who I can still rely on and won’t hesitate to ask for work,” she concludes.