After being an active part of Gujarati and Marathi theatre, TV shows and films, veteran actor and now Padma Shri recipient Sarita Joshi says she is open for web series as well. However, she adds that the creators of these series often disappear when they hear the amount she asks for. “Web series mein maine kaam nahi kiya hai abhi tak par mujhe offer aane lage hai. Par main jo paise mangti hoon, toh woh bhaag jaate hai. Par main apni dignity kam nahin karungi. This goes for theatre as well as TV and films. Jisse dena hota hai woh bahut pyaar se dete hai,” says Joshi, who was in Delhi to receive the fourth-highest civilian award.

Talking about the honour, she says her phone didn’t stop ringing for days after the ceremony: “Mujhe itne messages aaye hai in dino mein, main tajjub ho gayi hoon. Mere doctors ne mujhe call kiya hai, jinko main pehanchanti bhi nahin hoon. Main ‘haan haan’ bolke rakh deti hoon phone aur phir yaad karke, phone vapis karti hoon. There are always ups and downs in an artiste’s life and when you get an honour like this, you feel so happy.”

While she realises that web series, films and TV will see her in a specific role of a mother or grandmother, such is not true for a play. “Theatre mein main chahe 80 ki bhi ho jaon, mere around hi play hoga. TV serial mein yeh nahin ho sakta ki mujhe hi lekar woh show bane. But theatre is not like that, I will still get to play the central character. In web series and films, I’ll get maa and daadi roles but the role and money should be good,” she says.

Meanwhile, Joshi says that she has done a lot of theatre in Delhi as well. She explains, “Main Indian National Theatre mein thi with my husband Pravin Joshi aur humare theatre festivals hote the Delhi mein.