Karisma Kapoor, whose showbiz career spans three decades, became successful as the quintessential Bollywood heroine. Later, she also won praise for her acting skills in films like ‘Fiza’ (2000) and ‘Zubeidaa’ (2001). The actress believes that the period of cinema she belonged to was the golden era, despite lacking the kind of comfort actors today enjoy.

She says, “Back in the day, the instinct, energy, and passion that went into making films was unbelievable. I started my career when there were no monitors or makeup vans, yet we still created iconic films. We often never had table reads and worked with only a rough outline of a script, but the passion and conviction the makers had in their one-line script and actors was amazing.”

Talking about iconic films, Karisma was a part of one of the biggest hits of the 90s, Yash Chopra’s ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’ (1997), which had her sharing screen space with Madhuri Dixit Nene and Shah Rukh Khan. She received a lot of appreciation from the audience and won the National Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film.

Karisma shares, “I had no issue playing that part because what mattered to me was the depth of the role and the performance. Many actresses turned down the character of Nisha, saying things like, ‘Oh my God, how can we dance with Madhuri?’ or ‘This girl doesn’t get the hero in the end’. What they did not see was that Nisha’s scenes brought something new to Indian cinema. Her character and emotions had never been portrayed before in Indian films. It’s important for us as artistes to have a vision and look ahead.”

Karisma, who was recently seen in the web film ‘Murder Mubarak’ and is currently seen as a celebrity judge on ‘India’s Best Dancer’, believes that today, actors of all ages have the opportunity to flourish. “It’s a glorious time to be in the industry for everyone today, both actresses and actors. Beautiful roles are being written for child artistes, teenagers, and actors in their 50s and beyond. I am happy to be a part of the evolving phase of our cinema,” she says.

One of the biggest changes the industry has seen over the last decade is the growing paparazzi culture. Karisma, who values her privacy, shares, “My privacy is very important to me. I don’t go to public gyms because I consider my gym time to be my private time. I would not like to be photographed at that time. And in doing so, maybe I am proving that you can be relevant even without being papped daily!”