Showing posts with label Deepti Naval. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deepti Naval. Show all posts
Honey Trehan wanted me for a song in Raat Akeli Hai-Chitrangda Singh
8:56 AM
Priyanka Sharma (MID-DAY; December 27, 2025)
If things had played out differently, Chitrangda Singh would have been a part of the first instalment of director Honey Trehan’s Raat Akeli Hai (2020) itself. It’s not something she regrets, and for good reason. “Honey had gotten in touch with me for a song in the first film. They wanted to put a special song for the theatrical release. But that got dropped because the film went to OTT,” recalls the actor.
Funnily, her loss turned out to be her gain. Today, Singh is winning praise for her turn in Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders, the second part of the Netflix murder mystery franchise. She recalls Trehan approaching her when she was shooting for Housefull 5.
“He messaged me, saying, ‘Do you know what you’re doing in January-February?’ I said, ‘I am shooting with you’,” she laughs.
Only when she sat for a meeting with Trehan did the actor learn that it was Raat Akeli Hai 2 with Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte. Singh, who plays a grief-stricken mother in the crime thriller, says the director’s brief to her was to convey her emotions through body language.
“I had to remind myself that the energy of this woman is somebody who has lost her son. So, I doubled my [emotional] weight and dragged myself because the woman doesn’t even want to even live anymore.”
It also gave her an opportunity to be a part of a story that offers social commentary on the disparities existing within the society. A plot point in the film involves children falling sick due to a poisonous gas leaked from a factory. For Singh, who is a mother, it hit home.
“As a mother, I also worry about the water we’re drinking. When I was first reading the script, we were largely thinking of scenes and character graph. But while shooting, I realized that social commentary is such an important part of the film. What a character does in the end is because there is no justice.”
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To Chitrangda Singh, co-star Nawazuddin Siddiqui is all about improvisation. She says, “Even if he says the same line 10 times, every time he’ll change [things] in it.”
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About Deepti Naval’s nuanced act, she says, “When you see her off camera, you know what she’s doing, but when you see it on the monitor, the impact [is unbelievable].”
It’s important to educate your child early about bad touch and good touch-Kalki Koechlin
8:25 AM
Kalki Koechlin’s vivid, unflinching take on nursing a newborn in a Mother’s Day comedy sketch called ‘I am Okay’ went viral this year as it resonated with legions of newbie moms who struggle to articulate the endless exhaustion and ecstasy of handling an “existential boulder”. The actor, writer, playwright and parent, who has authored a graphic novel on pregnancy and parenting called ‘The Elephant in the Womb’, talks to Sneha Bhura on raising a Covid baby, travelling with a three-year-old and lessons on motherhood from her latest film ‘Goldfish’
Sneha Bhura (TIMES PARENTING | THE TIMES OF INDIA; September 24, 2023)
Your daughter Sappho was born in February 2020, just before the world stuttered to a halt with a pandemic-induced Coronavirus lockdown. As a first-time parent, how did you readjust your childcare plans in such disorienting circumstances?
Basically, I didn’t have any childcare. Luckily, we had our domestic help who decided to live-in with us. But other than that, it was my partner and I who raised our baby. It was an intense time because I also had to look after my 13-year-old brother. My dad and his wife were stuck abroad as there were no international flights. My brother’s boarding school sent him to me. So, I had a newborn and a teenager. It was parenting 2.0! Between taking care of my teenage brother and changing diapers, there was no sleep at night. It was seven intense months.
You had opted for a water birth with help from a doula. What would you like to tell expectant mothers about the potential risks and benefits of this ‘natural’ delivery method from your personal experience?
I think it’s fantastic. But it needs a lot of planning. And you obviously need to check with a medical professional whether your body is fit enough to have a natural birth or if there are other complications. Sanam, my doula, was around and that gave us this extra sense of security because it’s not just the birth, it’s the pre and the post care too: How are you preparing mentally before and after the birth? How do you breastfeed the newborn? How do you keep this tiny thing alive? So, having a long chat with your gynaecologist and really writing down your birth plan — what you expect in those hours of labour, things that may go wrong, things you need to do then — is essential. You can really lay it out and come to an agreement. It’s sort of like an unofficial contract between you and your gynaecologist.
Your book ‘Elephant In The Womb’ was a raw account of pregnancy and the post-partum experience which you sometimes described as a nightmare. But what is it like parenting a growing three-year-old?
I love this time when they’re chatting and talking. They’re very entertaining. I want to frame a sentence of hers every day. There’s always some new funny sentence she has so it’s great fun. But of course, they are becoming cleverer and more manipulative. They know how to get something out of you by throwing a tantrum. And because she was a Covid baby, she had a lot of time with mama and she’s very attached to mama. So now comes the challenge of being away. I used to travel with her every time I went for a shoot but that’s not possible anymore. Now she needs to be in one place. So that challenge is coming up now.
How do you deal with the concern and anxiety of your child being in public places now that she has started school?
One of the first things to do is just giving your child the space to talk whenever you are with them. Constantly being curious about their life in school helps: What they’re doing with their social life? Who are their best friends? Who are their teachers? What are the people they don’t like? All of that stuff. Being involved and curious about their life is very, very important to understand how things are going. And of course, the other is to start educating your child about their body boundaries. All of that is really important to us. So, we’ve explained good touch and bad touch. We’ve explained to her how to own your space, how you can ask for space if you want it.
Parents often delay talking to their children about inappropriate touch. Teaching your child about it when she’s three years old, what does that look like?
Actually there’s a lot of support online. For example, a mother shared with me a song called ‘The boundaries song’ on YouTube. It’s made with cartoons which is perfect for this age group. It teaches them how some people love cuddles, some don’t; how some people’s kisses you like, some you don’t. It’s a really fun song. So, there’s an appropriate way to talk to even a three-year-old about these things. I don’t think there’s any sort of time limit; I think everybody can be spoken to. I always feel like the more I speak to my child as a human being and less as a little baby, and by being more honest with her, the better relationship we will have with each other.
They say sustainability goes out the window after the birth of a child when you just want to get through the day, and night! As a green parent, what are some of the consumer choices you have been advocating?
I remember when I told my doula that I only want to use cloth diapers, she was like, “Oh, that’s very sweet and all but please, you use cloth diapers in the day and at night use proper diapers.” And it was good advice (laughs). But what I did do is go the extra mile to find out about throwaway diapers which are still sustainable. So, in the day I was dealing with a lot of laundry from the cloth diapers and, at night, I was using biodegradable, store-bought ones made of bamboo. In the beginning, it was all very hard to do but because I was home and there was a pandemic, I just started figuring out a lot of things (about sustainability) like ordering organic and non-toxic floor and bathroom cleaners, shampoos and soaps. It just became something that I did as a sort of a big chunk (of my time). Sometimes even at 2 am in the morning after I had done my breastfeeding! But one of the things we do now is swapping things like clothes and cribs. I know so many kids and so many parents now that it helps to pass things around because kids grow out of their clothes so quickly. It’s become like a system.
You did a travel show with your father on your biking journey together in northeast India. Considering your love for adventure and travel, how do you deal with the daunting task of hitting the road with a child? Is there a mother-daughter travel series in the works?
This poor child has been to more continents than most of us (laughs). After seven months of being in lockdown, we were so frustrated that we decided to drive across the country to south India where my mother has a big home. She was also projectile vomiting in the car, that was another thing! And then my partner is from Israel. As soon as we were allowed to travel abroad, we went to Israel to visit his whole family, his grandparents. Then I had to shoot my film ‘Goldfish’ in London. She came there. So, she has been moving a lot. She has been great with travel. I obviously haven’t started motorbike rides with her yet. I have to wait two more years for that.
Sappho has found a very artistic home with a classical musician father and an actor-writer mother. Has she taken to music, drama or dance already? What does family downtime look like?
My daughter is really into art. It’s really interesting because we have children’s books but her favourite ones are by (French painter) Claude Monet, Henri Matisse and Spanish painter Joan Miro. And she’s obsessed with these artists! All of these artists go to Paris at some point in the book. And she goes like “I’m going to be a real artist. I’m going to go to Paris. I’m going to study art.” And we also have some friends down the road here in Goa. One of them is actually the woman (Valeriya Polyanychko) who illustrated my book. She allows Sappho to paint on the walls of her house and Sappho goes nuts there. So. Guy and I have done a few projects with her. Recently, we made an owl together.
You have talked about how regaining a sense of self as a mother, who is equally invested in her child and her work, has been the hardest job. How much of that delicate balance seems achievable now? Or do you still struggle to take time out for yourself?
Recently, I was shooting a film in Portugal. It’s the first time I didn’t travel with Sappho. So, the first ten days were blissful. I was shooting for 12 hours a day and I still had so much time to myself after the shoot. I would do yoga, go to the pool and have a beer and chill with my co-actors. I was like, “Wow, what is this life that I had completely forgotten.” But having said that, after about 12 days, I had this physical pain to get back. It was hard to be away. But now I feel I’m also prioritizing differently. I like the space I’m getting even while being a parent. For example, during her school hours, I’m writing and doing other work like reading and researching stuff that I want to work on. It’s giving me a new shape as a person and I am discovering new sides to myself which is exciting.
Kids born to unmarried parents in India are often treated unkindly in social situations. How can cohabiting parents protect and prepare their children for such eventualities?
I haven’t faced that issue yet, so I haven’t thought about it. But I don’t think there’s anything to hide. The parents we meet are quite progressive. Also, perhaps there’s no need for other parents to know. It’s none of their business whether you’re married or not. In my case, I’m a celebrity so people know. But in a lot of cases, I am sure people just will not say if they’re not married.
Your latest film ‘Goldfish’ stars Deepti Naval as your mother and it focuses on the strained relationship between a mother and daughter. What was it like working on this movie when in real life you had begun your own journey as a new mother?
Even when I was shooting the film, I was so aware because I was playing a daughter even as I was just becoming a mother. And I suddenly had so much more empathy for Deepti’s character. I knew now what my mother went through because I fought like crazy with my mother as a teenager. And I was constantly thinking, will I get to this point with my daughter? I love her to bits, and she loves me to bits right now, but will we get to that point where she says, ‘I hate you, Mom’? So it made me very aware and appreciative of my mother. And yes, I’m totally joyous and happy to have a theatre release after four years.
Is there anything that you would like to add about modern parenting?
My partner and I have very different techniques and parenting styles. Sometimes we get into fights because of that. We have started seeing a child psychologist every once in a while, because it helps us to understand what our child needs and which approach to take. So, I would really recommend that. If you can have someone just to consult — where somebody is able to hear both sides and also understand what the child’s perspective is and basically speaks for the child — then it really helps.
Goldfish's director cut down on night shoots so that I could be home at 6 am to feed Sappho-Kalki Koechlin
8:38 AM
Grateful to have found supportive unit as she filmed Goldfish after her maternity break, Kalki rues that the industry often doesn’t consider working mothers’ needs
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; August 26, 2023)
Imagine walking out of the second season of Made In Heaven, where every character has dubious motives, and going to the set of Goldfish, a mother-daughter story. Kalki Koechlin says Pushan Kripalani’s directorial venture—which revolves around her character growing close to her mother, who grapples with dementia— shows how grief and laughs can co-exist. It helped that Deepti Naval played her on-screen mother, bringing her own experiences to the story.
“Deepti’s mother had dementia. She told me little things, like how her mom would make chai with a lot of sugar and have it. Then she would ask for chai again 10 minutes later because she had forgotten that she has already had it. If Deepti said no to the next cup, she’d be upset. Such stories helped me build a person who has lost her identity and is even more frightened due to it,” says Koechlin, adding, “Deepti is someone I deeply admire.”
Koechlin, who welcomed daughter Sappho in 2020, admits motherhood has given her a new perspective to roles. But returning to work after her maternity break wasn’t easy. The actor says that she took Sappho to the London shoot.
“The night before the shoot, she was holding on to me tight and refusing to sleep. So, I sat her down like an adult and said, ‘Sappho, I want to do this film. It is important to me. I will be here for you every morning and night.’ She went to sleep immediately, and the next morning she asked for her nanny. Sometimes, when you [share] your vulnerability, children feel involved.”
Even as she is grateful to the film’s unit for building a supportive environment for her, the actor rues that the Hindi film industry hardly considers the needs of working mothers.
“There is not enough support in the industry. One is left at the mercy of kind people on set. In terms of laws, there is a long way to go. I have had experiences when the baby was with me on the set, but people were wanting to do [outfit] trials past 10-11 pm. You want to keep working, but you also have the role of being a mother. I lucked out on Goldfish, where the producers arranged for a nanny in the United Kingdom. The director cut down on night shoots so that I could be home at 6 am to feed her.”
OTT has given me the opportunity to have a big car and a big house-Amruta Subhash
8:08 AM
Amruta Subhash credits the digital medium for giving her the space to reinvent and experiment like never before
Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; June 24, 2023)
Amruta Subhash’s career graph shot up after Gully Boy (2018). But, it came with the risk of being typecast as a mother. This is why the actor waited patiently for the right kind of work to come her way — and that paid off. What followed were web shows Sacred Games 2, Bombay Begums, Saas Bahu Achaar Pvt. Ltd., Dhamaka (2022) and now, the upcoming Lust Stories 2, all of which gave her the chance to showcase her range as an artiste, within a span of five years.
“Earlier, I used to say no to roles I wasn’t satisfied with and sit at home, not earning,” Subhash tells us. But now, with the abundance of opportunities that the web offers, things have changed for the 44-year-old, who says, “I don’t know about other actresses, but as far as I am concerned, I am paid very well here. I shifted into my big, wonderful house just two-three months back. OTT has given me the opportunity to have a big car and a big house.”
‘OTT made me the protagonist’
It was only in a web project that Subhash got the chance to lead a show. “The [film] industry tries to put you in slots and I have always tried to break [out of] them. But this thing (perception) was still there, ‘Yeh actor toh sirf supporting cast mein rahegi’,” recalls the National Award winner, adding, “It was in Saas Bahu... that I was presented as a protagonist. [For that,] I am really grateful to the makers.”
‘Films offer less variety’
The content landscape has changed drastically with the advent of OTT, and Subhash can vouch for it with her body of work on the platform: “After Gully Boy, everybody told me not to get slotted as a mother. Then Sacred Games 2 came my way. I am grateful to Anurag Kashyap (filmmaker), who kept visualizing me in different ways, whether it was Choked, Sacred Games or Raman Raghav 2.0... I am glad OTT happened to India. When Bombay Begums came to me, for instance, I could never have imagined I’d get to play a seductress at my age!”
But, Subhash is well aware that things haven’t always been this way. “Some years ago, I was interviewing actor Deepti Naval for her book and she told me that after a certain point of time, she left acting because she didn’t want to get slotted in similar kinds of roles. There was no OTT during her time,” she recalls.
This is precisely why Subhash feels the industry has come a long way: “My favourite line is that earlier, content was king. But now, content is queen too, with women being offered so many amazing characters on OTT.”
I chose to slow down since I’ve had my daughter-Kalki Koechlin
8:13 AM
Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; May 14, 2023)
Known for her unconventional choices as an actor, Kalki Koechlin has a way of making each character and their quirks her own. Despite her passion towards the craft, she hasn’t allowed it to alienate her from day-to-day life. Having a healthy work-life balance is a priority for the actress, who now lives in Goa with her daughter Sappho and partner Guy Hershberg. Kalki frequently visits Mumbai for work and during one such visit, tells us what it’s like to be a mother, her shift to Goa and why environmental conservation is no longer a matter of choice. Excerpts...
You’ve moved to Goa and keep coming down to Mumbai for work. What led to this shift?
The primary reason was having a child and realizing that we don’t have a park around for kids to play. That outdoor space was missing. It’s hard to find spaces for children in cities unless you go to a shopping mall. I wanted my daughter (Sappho) to have more exposure to nature instead of pollution.
I acknowledge the fact that we are privileged enough to have both lifestyles. I can come and work in Mumbai but still live in Goa. This shift has done a lot of good for us adults as well.
Has the journey of motherhood changed your outlook towards life and helped you evolve as a person? Tell us more about Sappho.
She’s a fun kid. She speaks four languages – Hebrew, Hindi, French and English – and she chats comfortably in all four. It’s so entertaining. Every day, I want to frame at least one of her sentences and put it up on the wall. She comes up with such unique lines. When you multitask, you tend to miss out on things. Motherhood has taught me to be more organized. It has taught me to use an Excel spreadsheet. I have learnt that if you want something in life, you need to seek it in advance and list it down. Planning has now become a huge part of my life. I jot down things and months when I want to be at home, and when I will be at work.
Are you a lot calmer today?
I do think that I have learnt patience through motherhood. I have understood that certain things do take time, like even getting your body back to normal after giving birth. The concept of quickly returning to your old self is not there. You must let your body take its own sweet time to heal. I have more patience today, but my life is way more hectic.
How’s life in Goa?
I live in a very quiet jungle sort of area in North Goa near Colvale. It’s away from the hustle and bustle of tourist attractions. We have a big garden comprising papaya, tomato and lemon trees, passion fruit and basil plants. It shows our kid where our food actually comes from, and that it doesn’t magically appear in the supermarket. I want her to know that. Our food is sourced from local farmers, so we eat mostly what is in season.
This was also my attempt to go green. We have a big compost area at the back of the garden. All the cleaning products in my house, be it laundry cleaner or dishwasher are non-chemical and not harmful to the environment. I have switched to everything herbal.
How did you meet your partner Guy Hershberg (an Israeli musician) and what has it been like for him to move to Goa?
I had gone on a girls’ trip to Israel. He went to a music school with one of my friends and so he was one of our contacts when we went there. That’s how we met. We both are extremely resilient. He is like a cactus that can survive in a desert. He still works a lot in Israel, so he is also on the road a lot. He enjoys being in Goa as it is calm and beautiful. I don’t think he was a fan of Mumbai. Since he is a musician, he can work from home when he’s composing. The piano is our background in life. We wake up to Bach’s music for breakfast. I can’t play the piano at all, he does.
Be it shuttling between Mumbai and Goa for work or choice of roles, you always follow your instincts, even if it means taking a route that is unusual, even difficult maybe. What drives you to be this way?
When I am unhappy or when I see things not going according to my instinct, I have a big knot in my stomach that I can’t ignore. I have to act upon it. It’s visceral. I have to feel healthy inside out to function as a person. I don’t think money and career are everything. Life is meant to learn. When you don’t learn you stagnate. My work pace has slowed down a bit since I now have a daughter and we live in Goa. It’s a choice I have made. I don’t want to be as busy as I used to be. I want to strike a healthy work-life balance. I am doing a lot of writing, theatre, and other performances that keep me active and satiate my creative needs. It’s important for me to be creative in some form or the other. This all happens from Goa, and I come over to Mumbai whenever I have shoots. Goldfish with Deepti Naval should release soon and Kho Gaye Hum Kahan will see me in a romantic relationship with Siddhant Chaturvedi.
Deepti Naval calls her role in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara ‘minuscule’: "It was an alarm"
8:13 AM
Vinay MR Mishra (HINDUSTAN TIMES; April 4, 2023)
Deepti Naval, who marked her acting debut with Junoon (1978), completes 45 years as an actor this year. At this stage of her career, she is looking for more defined roles. “I am hoping to get better roles, else, I’m happy writing. There is no dearth of acting offers. The typical mother roles are a dime a dozen,” she says.
Naval was certain that she didn’t want to take on just another mother role in a project and that’s something she was clear about even while signing her next release, Kavita & Teresa. “I asked the director, ‘What do you want me to play?’ It’s either the young girl or Mother Teresa. I didn’t want to do any typical mother role. My role in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (ZNMD; 2011) was minuscule and I thought, ‘Oh my God, is this what it’s going to be now? People are going to call me for one or two scenes?’ It was like an alarm.”
She adds, “Of course, it (ZNMD; she played actor Farhan Akhtar’s mum) was a beautiful film to be a part of. But here (Kavita & Teresa) I thought, yes, I could bring something [to the table]. I wanted to be a part of a good film, just like I wanted to be a part of Zoya’s (Akhtar, ZNMD director) movie.”
Did the entire ZNMD episode bother her? “Out of the three scenes, two were kept and only one was pulled out. That’s the freedom the director takes. I was happy, but I certainly didn’t want to be the mother and be there for just a split second,” she clarifies.
Having said that, Naval, 71, is “very comfortable” with her age. “I don’t want to try and look younger. Also, I don’t want to be desperate about how I’m looking on screen. I look my age and I’m okay with it,” she ends.
I’m not a sweet and simple middle-class girl I played in movies-Deepti Naval
7:57 AM
In her conversation at the Times Litfest in Delhi, Deepti Naval spoke about how films have wrongly represented the middle-class girls
Niharika Lal (BOMBAY TIMES; February 17, 2023)
As soon as Deepti Naval came on the stage at Times Litfest in Delhi, someone from the audience screamed ‘Chamko!’ The actress, who was called Miss Chamko in 1981’s Chashme Buddoor, laughed and said, “This is the last thing I wanted to hear today.”
Deepti, who was at the fest to talk about her latest book, A Country Called Childhood, which is about her childhood memories, told the audience to read it like a literary work. She said, “I was not writing as a celebrity. This is the work of a writer.”
The actress, who has played the role of a “sweet and simple” middle-class girl in films like Chashme Buddoor and Saath Saath, told the audience that her off-screen personality is different from her onscreen image. “Meri jo screen image hai, main usse kaafi opposite hoon. Yeh jo formula hai humare yahan that ‘she is so sweet and simple’, yeh mere par toh nahi baithta. I’m neither simple nor sweet,” she said, adding, “Middle class girls have big dreams. They are determined and are ready to fight it out with society, starting with their parents. They are not going to sit back and accept that whatever I will get in life, I will live with that. That’s a false representation of how middle-class girls are. They are feisty, they know what they want and are out there to achieve what they want.”
Author Yasser Usman, who interacted with her, told the audience that even though the book is not about films, it does mention how she gravitated towards films from an early age. He also shared that Deepti had phases when she was smitten by Meena Kumari, Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore while growing up, and she ran away from her home because she didn’t want to live in the walled city of Amritsar. After watching films like Kashmir Ki Kali and Arzoo, she felt that Kashmir is the place to be, so at the age of 13, she ran away on a train, but fortunately was found at Pathankot and returned home.
I wish I had not done half the films I did-Deepti Naval
8:19 AM
Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; December 13, 2022)
Deepti Naval, whose film Goldfish has been doing the rounds of many film festivals, doesn’t believe in mincing her words. Ask if she wishes she hadn’t done some films in her three-decade-long career and the veteran actor says, “Absolutely. I wish I had not done half the films I did. Out of the almost 100, l can be proud of about 35 films I did. The rest, I’d like to write them off,” exclaims the veteran.
The 70-year-old, who has been a part of acclaimed films such as Chashme Buddoor (1981) and Mirch Masala (1987), among others, says that like today, female actors would get good roles in the past, too. “I picked some strong characters. I started off with sweet, girl-next-door roles. Then, for almost six months, I didn’t sign any film, as I was getting similar roles. Makers wanted me to play the Chashme Buddoor kind of girl. But I wanted to play a stronger woman. Then I started signing films like Ankahee (1985) and Main Zinda Hoon (1988),” says Naval, who co-stars with actor Kalki Koechlin in Goldfish, which was screened at the 53rd International Film Festival of India, in Goa, recently.
She goes on to explain how professional lives of yesteryear female actors suffered after marriage: “If an actress got married, her career was over. Today, it doesn’t work like that, thank God for that. Many people paid the price for it (getting married). I remember, as soon as I married Prakash (Jha, filmmaker and ex-husband), I had no work at all.”
Deepti Naval kept me on my toes, I never knew what she was going to do next-Kalki Koechlin
8:32 AM
Collaborating with Naval on a drama, Kalki says actor’s spontaneity enhanced her act
Uma Ramasubramanian (MID-DAY; November 29, 2022)
Joining hands with Deepti Naval for cinematographer Pushan Kripalani’s Goldsfish, Kalki Koechlin, slips into the role of Anamika, a half-Indian half-English woman, who returns home to the UK to deal with her mother’s (played by Naval) dementia.
“Identity crisis is my specialty,” Koechlin says, light-heartedly. “Being between cultures, finding where you belong, and encountering mother-daughter conflicts are all familiar to me. I know people who connected instantly with the plot, especially those who have suffered the repercussions of dementia. I wanted to get the pulse right, so I spent time practicing and researching.”
In dealing with forgetfulness, Koechlin admits that Naval’s character must showcase both restraint and patience. “There is a challenge in keeping things bottled up. It is physically and mentally exhausting. I suppose for Deepti, this would have been something to reckon with. My character reacts to that. So, frustration is probably the ruling emotion for my character. Deepti kept me on my toes, I never knew what she was going to do next; she is spontaneous.”
Admirers, co-stars and directors remember the ‘pioneer of hosting’ Tabassum
8:02 AM
BOMBAY TIMES (November 21, 2022)
Veteran Bollywood actress Tabassum Govil, who hosted the iconic television series Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan for two decades, passed away on Friday following a massive cardiac arrest. She was 78. Born in 1944 in Mumbai as Kiranbala to Ayodhyanath Sachdev and author-journalist Asghari Begum, she made her debut as a child actor at the age of three with the film Nargis (1947), which was followed by Mera Suhaar and Majdhaar.
Over the years, Tabassum became one of the biggest child stars. Post her teens, she starred in films like Badi Behen (1949), Jogan (1950), Baiju Bawra (1952), Mughal-e-Azam (1960), Johny Mera Naam (1970), Gambler (1971), Chameli Ki Shaadi (1986) and Swarg (1990), among others. Her show Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan, which aired from 1972 to 1993, became immensely popular.
The ever-smiling actress interviewed various Bollywood actors on the show and won a lot of appreciation for her hosting skills. On the personal front, she was married to Vijay Govil, elder brother of actor Arun Govil. Tributes and nostalgia-filled posts poured in from members of the film fraternity expressing grief on her sudden demise.
I WITNESSED HER WORK VERY HARD FOR MANY YEARS : ARUN GOVIL
Remembering his sister-in-law, Arun Govil said, “She was my dearest family member and an extremely loving, compassionate and gracious woman. When I relocated from Meerut to Mumbai, I lived with my brother and Tabassum for many years. I used to accompany her to the sets of Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan and watch her interview actors. I witnessed her work very hard for many years. She was a foodie, who also loved cooking. She also used to write well. I will always remember her as a warm-hearted person.”
I USED TO LOVE HER SHOW: DAVID DHAWAN
David Dhawan, who directed Swarg, Tabassum’s last film as an actor, said, “She was a pleasant person to work with. She began as a child artiste and later hosted the chat show Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan, which became very popular. I used to love her show. I will always remember her as a fabulous actress, who was good with her diction and dialogues, and used to be so natural in front of the camera.”
SHE WAS AWARE OF THE UPS AND DOWNS IN THE LIVES OF MOST ACTORS: DEEPTI NAVAL
Deepti Naval, who was among those interviewed by the actress-host, shared, “My first interview on television was with Tabassum ji. She knew the industry well because she was also an actress. She was also aware of the struggles and ups and downs in the lives of most actors. That was one of the reasons her talk show on Doordarshan was such a big hit. When she had interviewed me, she had touched upon the right topics and asked great questions. I remember that I had enjoyed the interview thoroughly.”
SHE WAS A MOTHERLY FIGURE ON THE SET: INDRANEIL SENGUPTA
Indraneil Sengupta, who played Tabassum’s grandson in the TV show Pyaar Ke Do Naam Ek Raadha Ek Shyaam in 2006, said, “She was wonderful to work with. All of us know that she was a brilliant actor, but most importantly, she was this motherly, rather grandmotherly figure on the set. She was always smiling, very sweet, and caring. She was very fond of Barkha (Bisht) and me. I remember she had invited us over for lunch or dinner after the show ended and we were fed some scrumptious food. We were in touch for quite a long time after the show got over, but eventually lost touch. I feel sad that we hadn’t spoken for a long time and today she is no more.”
SHE WAS TRULY A LEGEND: TWINKLE KHANNA
Remembering the late actress, Twinkle said, “She was truly a legend. As a child, I used to watch Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan with Tabassum ji as its spectacular host. I remember her nasal twang and the rose tucked behind her ear. All these blurry recollections wrapped around me like cashmere layers on a winter morning. May she rest in peace (sic).”
— With inputs from Tanvi Trivedi, Onkar Kulkarni and Neha Maheshwri
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Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; November 21, 2022)
The death of actor Tabassum on Friday has brought an era to an end. Born in 1944 in then Bombay, her acting career started at the age of three, with the film Nargis, followed by noteworthy roles such as that of a young Meena Kumari in Baiju Bawra (1952), a courtesan in Mughal-e-Azam (1960) and many more. She went on to do projects such as Gambler (1971) and Chameli Ki Shaadi (1986).
But, what immortalized her on the small screen, for which an entire generation still recalls her fondly, was India’s first television talk show, Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan. It premiered on Doordarshan in 1972, within a week of the channel going live, and continued to be aired for the next 21 years.
Celebs from all walks of life wanted to be on the show, which was unique, also because it was interspersed with film scenes of the interviewee. Her jolly nature, combined with her fluency in English, Hindi and Urdu won hearts. In 2016, she had said in an interview to HT, “Initially, some artistes would act snobbish about coming on the show. But, once it became popular, the biggest names would queue up for a slot.”
PIONEER OF HOSTING
Actor Anil Kapoor, who worked with the late actor in Chameli Ki Shaadi and also appeared on her show, remembers her positive aura. “Tabassum ji was a lovely lady, always smiling and full of energy. She was one of the pioneers of hosting shows. And not a small one at that; it remains one of the most successful shows in India,” says the 65-year-old, adding that the show’s popularity is what made his late father, producer Surinder Kapoor, title their film after it.
He added, "We titled our film, starring Rishi Kapoor and Moushumi Chatterjee, Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan. Her show was iconic, and she was a terrific host. She was one of the most celebrated anchors. Everyone wanted to be a part of her show, it was a big thing if you got the chance."
‘TABASSUM JI BAHUT ZINDA DIL AURAT THI’
Filmmaker Anees Bazmee, who wrote the script of her last film, Swarg (1990), recalls: “When you met her, if you were tensed, your worries would disappear! You tend to not form a judgement about someone on the first meeting, but with her, you could deduce easily that she was a very good human being. Unki awaaz itni achhi thi, whatever work she did was always first-class. She lived a whole life, and people will remember her for a long time to come. Whatever she did, only she could do. I am very sad.”
Deepti Naval calls boycott trend ‘atrocious’
9:34 AM
Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; September 24, 2022)
Actor Deepti Naval has been in the business for four decades now, and knows the industry inside out. The current negativity attached to the Hindi film industry, especially the boycott calls raised before every other release, is something she finds “unfair” and “tragic”.
“I don’t know why the audience, or some of the audience, has somersaulted and turned against the industry. I don’t know why this has to happen on social media. I know the best of people from the industry, the best of names and talents. I have seen them, some from a distance, and admired them. I know how people slog to make movies, give their life to cinema,” shares the 70-year-old, adding, “I feel saddened with the whole industry being clubbed as the worst place in the world. This is so atrocious.”
Naval, who entered the industry in 1978 with filmmaker Shyam Benegal’s Junoon, says the prevalent sentiment in cinema has always been “kuchh achha project karenge, achha banayenge”. “To attack this dedication, just because of some element... maybe some unfortunate incident... it will destroy the image of the industry,” she rues.
But the Chashme Buddoor (1981) and Bawandar (2000) actor is confident that the industry will brave all storms, and will emerge stronger. Set to be seen next in Goldfish as a mother suffering from dementia, she shares, “It will survive. People in this country love cinema, but right now, it’s going the wrong way. I am sure that this trend is not going to last. They are caught up in this whole negative scenario right now, but I am sure this will die its own sweet death, and cinema will emerge [victorious again]. That’s what I feel.”
My self-image is contrary to the girl-next-door label, says Deepti Naval
8:23 AM
Henna Rakheja (HINDUSTAN TIMES; July 8, 2022)
She is Deepti Naval, the actor, to the world. But she is also a painter, filmmaker and writer. However, when it came to compiling her recently-released memoir, A Country Called Childhood, she chose to write about Dolly (her nickname as a child).
“I’ve lived life on my own terms. Most of the time, I’ve behaved non-practical, impromptu and spontaneously. When people label me the sweet, girl-next-door, I don’t [relate to it since] I’ve no such self-image. My self-image is completely contrary,” asserts the 70-year-old, known for critically acclaimed films such as Chashme Buddoor (1981), Leela (2002), Listen…Amaya (2013), among others. But, if there’s one thing she’d wish to go back in time and fix, it’s “running away from home”. “I would never do such a stupid thing!” she says.
Her writing has been appreciated in the past as well, wherein she experimented with poetry and short stories. Before publishing, she recalls making late Farooq Sheikh — with whom she has worked in numerous films — her sounding board: “I’d run the final version of the short story by Farooq. He was happy to see my growth as a writer, and had said, 'Pehle bhi padhi thi tumhari nazmein, but this is far ahead'.”
Ask Naval, who was last seen in 2021’s OTT series Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors, if she would like to see any of her work of writing on screen, may be in the form of a web series, and she says, “I haven’t thought of it yet, but now that you bring it up, yes, why not? I know that my book is very visual.”
My mother dreamt of becoming an actress and called herself the Beauty Queen of Bengal-Deepti Naval
8:36 AM
Deepti Naval, 18, at her home in Amritsar. Pic Courtesy/A Country Called Childhood: A Memoir, Aleph Book Company
In a just-launched memoir, quintessential girl-next-door Deepti Naval recalls how her mother’s love for dramas and star-struck cousins inspired her to be an actor
MID-DAY (July 3, 2022)
My family loved cinema but if there was one member of the family who actually loved to sing and dance, it was my mother. I have with me old black and white photos that are a visual record of this aspect in my Mama’s life. She was especially fond of doing dramas; she would direct plays, and also act in them along with other young women. I have one distinct memory of a scene being enacted in our house. I’m standing beside the dark blue curtain in the hall kamra and watching Mama rehearse with other women. She is in a saree and her hair is tied in a loose bun. She is wearing high heels and is holding a purse. I recall her entering the room, dangling the batua in her hand. She walks in and there’s some dialogue with the other two women, words that I no longer remember. I watch the scene being performed in front of me with fascination. The door opens and shuts as Mama walks in repeatedly from the thhada entrance, revealing street activity behind her. Light filters in as she stands backlit at the entrance, looking like a veritable star. I wish I could recollect details of the scene being enacted but that’s as far as it goes, my memory of that rehearsal.
Once, some cine stars from Bombay came to our city for a cricket match. Among them were Shyama, Nirupa Roy, and Bhagwan Dada. They performed a show at the Chitra Talkies. That’s the time my mother also performed along with them. When she made her entry on stage, Didi, sitting next to me in the hall started to shout, “Mama! . . . That’s my Mama!” All heads turned to look at us. It was a moment that embarrassed my mother but she’d recall it always with a lot of love. I assume that my mother did some more plays during my baby years, but by the time I was old enough to properly appreciate her talents as an actress she had stopped. Years later, she told me that Bibiji had once said to her, ‘The women at the Women’s Conference say that your daughter-in-law does dramas!’
“After that day,” said Mama, “I stopped. I never did another play. Never uttered a word to my mother-in-law. I just silently gave up everything.”
I was not aware of the impact of that finale in my mother’s life, for she never showed any bitterness. But I know what that sacrifice must have meant to her. This was the woman who dreamt of becoming an actress and called herself the Beauty Queen of Bengal. Today, as I live my life as an artiste, I realize the gravity of those words. “I silently gave up everything...”
It also made me think of Mama’s cousin in Burma, Sunny Bowrie, who had run away from Rangoon to become a dancer in Bombay Talkies. Brian Uncle once told me that Sunny was seen among the group dancers in the song Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya in Raj Kapoor’s film Shree 420. I have since been looking hard at the screen, peering crazily at the dancers in the back rows, looking for Sunny Bowrie, the face in Mama’s box of photographs, to somehow be able to spot him dancing in a movie, a dream that he’d left his home for. But according to Mama, Sunny Bowrie was lost to the family a long time ago.
Besides my mother, others in the family who loved the world of acting, or more properly Hindi movies, were my buas, my father’s sisters. Once a year, my buas would come down from Delhi to Amritsar along with their children. All of us cousins—Manju, Babbu, Indu, Ashu, Alok, Cheenu, Bunny, Didi, and me—would be quite a handful for the elders. In the afternoon, the women would put us kids to sleep and sneak out of the house, to go and see the matinee show at Chitra Talkies.
On hot summer afternoons, all of us kids would lay down for an hour on the terrazzo floor, its touch cool against the skin. The chicks would be drawn in the veranda to keep the sun out as we were all required to take our afternoon nap. That’s when my buas would get up from the floor, one by one, stand before the hat stand mirror, brush their hair, put on various shades of red lipstick, and one by one, slip out of the house. That was their ultimate getting-ready-real-fast trick—comb your hair, apply red lipstick, and off you go!
All the kids knew exactly what was happening, but almost all the time we pretended to be asleep. Occasionally, we’d open our eyes, glance at each other, and suppress giggles.
The biggest influence in my life as an actress perhaps was Indu Bhaiya, my older cousin. Indu Bhaiya, Santosh Bua’s older son, first came to live with us in the year 1958. I was six years old at the time and Bhaiya was probably in eighth class. He had not been doing well in school, so Pitaji suggested that Indu be sent to Amritsar so he could personally supervise his studies. I remember Didi, Indu Bhaiya, and me, playing with white plasticine balls, turning them into pigeons and buffaloes.
The second time that Indu Bhaiya came to Amritsar was in 1962. Bhaiya was by now eighteen, and I was ten. I sported the, then famous, Sadhana Cut, the much in vogue fringe those days, after the look in Love In Simla, and roamed around in my pinafore. Indu Bhaiya would every now and then tease me about looking like Sadhana, the star of those days. This was also the time I was just starting to become self-conscious as a girl. Indu Bhaiya had told his family that he wanted to go to Bombay to become an actor. He would tell us all about Dev Anand; he seemed to be obsessed with the film star.
• • •
Some years down the line, Indu Bhaiya went to Bombay nevertheless and joined films. I was ecstatic—my Bhaiya was so handsome, he looked like Dev Anand, he’ll surely make it. We heard that he’d already got work in a film produced by Rajshri Productions called Dosti. Though Bhaiya was in the supporting cast, for me this was exciting enough.
After his three-year stint in the film industry, and a few more roles, we were told that Bhaiya had given up on Bombay and come back home. When I saw him at Manju Didi’s wedding after his return, I was a bit taken aback. Bhaiya seemed to be in a disturbed state of mind. He later confided in me and told me how he’d fallen in love with an actress in Bombay, but was left heartbroken. He’d lost his mental balance and had briefly undergone treatment as well. Luckily, for him and the family, things would later fall in place for Bhaiya as he put his dream behind, and decided to move on with his life.
But for me, Indu Bhaiya was and has always remained a hero.
Excerpted with permission from A Country Called Childhood: A Memoir by Deepti Naval, published by Aleph Book Company
Naval’s buas
With Indu Bhaiya, Bunny, and Ashu
Deepti Naval’s mother Winnie, born Himadri Gangahar. Pics Courtesy/A Country Called Childhood: A Memoir
Sunny Bowrie
Kalki Koechlin and Deepti Naval-starrer Goldfish to premiere at 75th Cannes Film Festival
7:40 AM
BOMBAY TIMES (May 19, 2022)
Deepti Naval and Kalki Koechlin-starrer, Goldfish, is set to have its world premiere at the prestigious 75th Cannes Film Festival on May 20 and 21. Set in London, the film, which deals with dementia, is the first international collaboration between Deepti and Kalki. The movie also stars the talented Rajit Kapur in a pivotal role. Directed by Pushan Kriplani, Goldfish is produced by Amit Saxena’s Splendid Films (USA), with Pooja Chauhan as executive producer.
Deepti Naval shares, “I connected with the film immediately when I heard the story in three lines. Something inside me said that this is for me, this is what I have been waiting for. Maybe I felt that way because I saw my mother go through Alzheimer’s and dementia.”
Kalki Koechlin says, “The film’s cast included Indians from all over the world, and all these actors had their own accents, which is something we’ve never seen in a film – the diversity of Indian accents and therefore of the people of India.”
Talking about the film’s global appeal, producer Amit Saxena says, “I am proud and lucky that Goldfishis the first film under our banner. It has global appeal and should speak to people around the world.”
Executive Producer Pooja Chauhan adds, “The film speaks to a sense of community, something COVID reminded us about, and it deals with dementia – the pandemic to come.”
Reflecting on the idea behind the film, director Pushan Kripalani says, “Goldfish explores the ideas of identity through two women. One is unsure of who she is because she lives between two cultures, neither completely her own, and the other is stuck in a land not her own, now because of her disease, with her identity ephemeral. It seeks to address the ideas of duty, love and painful history.”
My self-portraits are not pretty pictures of me-Deepti Naval
8:17 AM
Niharika Lal (BOMBAY TIMES; March 8, 2022)
Deepti Naval, who was recently in Delhi, showcased one of her paintings at an art gallery in the capital. The veteran actress, who has filmed for Chashme Baddoor and Made In Heaven in Delhi, says, “I like Delhi. I keep coming back here. That haveli (where she shot for Made In Heaven) was glorious.”
Talking about her art on display, she says, “The painting that I have put on display is a portrait of my friend, Zaki. There is a portrait of me on display as well. ”
‘MY SELF-PORTRAITS ARE NOT PRETTY PICTURES OF ME’
Her work, although not part of the festival, also includes a painting of Smita Patil. She says, “With Smita ji, I had an intense bond. When she passed away, I made her painting in the next 10 days. It was my way of dealing with the grief. In fact, there is also a poem that I have written ‘Between Smita and I’. It describes our equation. In the painting, my eyes are closed and her eyes are open and somebody asked me, ‘why you have kept her eyes open (as she has passed away) and yours closed?’ I said, ‘I am still groping in the dark, but Smita has found the light’. So, uski aankhein khul chuki hain.”
Apart from the paintings of her friends, her work also includes a lot of self-portraits. She says, “My self-portraits are not pretty pictures of me because as an actress there is enough of that. These self-portraits are all internal. It’s the state of mind that you are going through at that moment when you are painting a self-portrait. In each self-portrait, I have tried to capture different feelings and state of mind.”
‘MY PAINTINGS HAVE FOUND A HOME IN THE HILLS’
Over the years she has captured snowcapped Himalayas in her paintings while travelling in the hills. And now her paintings have found a home (at her gallery) in Haripur, Kullu. She says, “Himachal se meri personal history judi hui hai. When I was growing up in Amritsar, my parents would take us to the Kullu Valley in Himachal Pradesh and we would go and stay in Manali. So, I have this connect with Manali. I eventually got a place there but later I thought, ‘What is the point of having a place in the hills when you hardly stay there?’ Then I decided to make it a home for my artwork and that’s how it became a gallery. I enjoy going there and want to find more time to visit and paint there. ”
A show like Criminal Justice 2 highlights what it feels like to be in a prison of sorts-Rohan Sippy
8:04 AM
Among the few directors to successfully hold viewers' interest in a web show's second edition, Rohan Sippy on what made Criminal Justice 2 worthy of attention
Uma Ramasubramanian (MID-DAY; December 30, 2020)
While the digital platform has given opportunities to skilled writers to showcase their prowess, several shows in India have so far been relegated to being one-season wonders. So, when Rohan Sippy chronicles how he crafted Criminal Justice season 2 to successfully hold viewers' attention, we find ourselves taking notes.
"One of the appealing aspects of the show was the fact that the producer were ready to bet on the unspoken issue [of marital rape]," Sippy tells mid-day of the Kirti Kulhari-fronted drama.
Narration of a subject as critical as this one, says Sippy, could have only been done from a woman's perspective. He laments that his creative team did not have as many women as was demanded by the script, but reading sessions with his cast members enabled him to paint a promising picture. "[We had] a number of female characters that were well sketched, and brilliantly essayed by actors like Kirti, Deepti ji [Naval], Mita [Vashisht], Anupria [Goenka], Adrija [Sinha], and Khushboo [Atre], among others. During the reading sessions, their feedback was vital."
Disney+ Hotstar's Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors showcases the pain that a victim endures before being compelled to kill her partner. Understanding the trauma was a novel experience for Sippy. "A show like this highlights what it feels like to be in a prison of sorts. So many women are in such situations. Often, we would head home and keep thinking about being in this system which one can't escape."
I will be going back a happier person-Deepti Naval
8:11 AM
Deepti Naval was rushed from Manali to a Chandigarh-based hospital where she underwent a small procedure following a health hazard
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 21, 2020)
Deepti Naval, much loved for her performances in films like Chashme Buddoor, Angoor, Rang Birangi and Ankahee, was admitted to the Fortis Hospital in Chandigarh late on Sunday. A regional daily quoted a doctor from the hospital saying that the 68-year-old actress had suffered a heart attack at noon on Sunday in her apartment in Manali, following which she was rushed to the hospital in Chandigarh in a special ambulance with a doctor on board. After a cardiac surgery she was said to be recovering.
When Mirror reached out to Deepti, early on Tuesday, she refused to divulge details behind the hospitalization but insisted that she was absolutely fine now, following the health scare. “Yes, I was at the Fortis in Chandigarh, and had a small procedure which was done due to a health hazard. It’s being very well taken care of. I was admitted on Sunday night and should be discharged on Tuesday evening. I will be going back a happier person,” she said.
The actress was last seen as Saroj Sood in Dev Patel’s Oscar-nominated biographical drama, Lion, which also featured Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Tannishtha Chatterjee. Before that, she played a pivotal role in Arjun Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha’s Tevar, Anushka Sharma’s NH10, and the Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif-fronted action thriller, Bang Bang.
My child has adopted me and not the other way around-Tannishtha Chatterjee
8:17 AM
Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; October 27, 2019)
Actor-turned-director Tannishtha Chatterjee is now the mother of a little girl. She always wanted to adopt a child, and she turned her dream into reality a few months ago. Given the sensitivity of the issue, the actress took her time to speak about it, also hoping that others, who harbour dreams of adopting a child, will be encouraged by her story. In a chat with BT, during which her three-year-old daughter accompanied her, Tannishtha opened up on various issues. She spoke candidly about motherhood as a single woman and why she was clear about bypassing marriage. Excerpts:
Our society often believes that the institution of marriage offers ‘stability and security’ to a woman. While that is subjective, as a single woman, how tough was it to overlook that, follow your heart and dive straight into motherhood?
I am not married, but I have a child now. I tell a lot of my male friends and exes that instead of adopting a guy, I preferred to adopt a child. I have been thinking about adopting since the time I was 16. I was clear from a very young age that I wanted to adopt. When you say these things as a teenager, people tend to dismiss it, saying, ‘Yeh toh sirf aisa bol rahi hai’. At that point, even I thought that I am being very uptight, and it’s about a social cause given that there are so many abandoned kids in our country. As I grew older, the thought of adoption not only stayed with me, but only became firmer. There’s this brilliant Japanese film called Like Father, Like Son (2013). It revolves around a couple who learns that their biological son was switched with another boy at birth. The parents are then faced with the difficult decision of choosing their biological son or the one they raised as their own. While watching the film, I realised that this ‘our child carries our genes’ thing is a very patriarchal idea. You don’t have to give birth to a child to be a mother. Even when you look at our culture, Krishna was raised by Yashoda and not his biological mother, Devaki. Over the years, this thought got affirmed in my head.
How easy or tough was the adoption process as a single woman?
She (daughter) came to me eight months ago. You don’t choose. Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is a government organisation, and in the last few years, they have streamlined the process. It is not like getting a baby at a shopping mall. You can’t choose. This whole designer baby thing is not fair. Even when you have a biological child, you don’t know how the child is going to turn out. The only thing that you can suggest during adoption is the age bracket and gender of the child that you wish to adopt. I wanted to adopt a child of this age because older children often get left out. Most people prefer babies who are three-six months old as they want a clean slate. I chose that age bracket for a reason. I know so many single moms who have adopted children and CARA is, in fact, supportive of single women. Especially for the girl child, they prefer single women as they feel they are safer with women. I think my process was faster because of that. I jumped the queue and the entire process took about a year.
Is it true that being a part of the film Lion (2017), in which you played a cameo, helped you understand the process of adoption better?
When I was doing that film, I was nowhere close to realistically doing this thing. Director Garth Davis and Deepti Naval were doing research on this subject for her role in the film, and she shared many things related to it with me. We went to an orphanage in Kolkata during that film. I realised foreigners adopted a lot of older kids. Indian couples prefer adopting very young children. When I was shooting for Parched (2015), I went to an orphanage in Bhuj and I started sponsoring two kids there. All these things happened. That’s when I got to know the process and how one needs to go about it.
What was your parents’ reaction to this decision of yours?
Obviously, they had a few questions. Marriage was one; also, they told me that having a child is not a child’s play. They told me to think it over as it’s a lifelong commitment. My mother warned me and told me that I have always lived a teenager’s life and I haven’t taken responsibilities of raising a family, so this should not be something that I was temporarily excited about. They were apprehensive, but when I was sure about wanting to do this, they were supportive. It’s been eight months now, and it’s been a beautiful journey. Whoever is thinking of doing this, should just do it. I wasn’t sure if I should talk about it or not. On the one hand, it’s a very personal decision, so I didn’t want to make news out of it. I didn’t post anything about it on social media either. On the other hand, I want to reach out to those who want to do this and are privileged enough to take care of a child. I read a report in The Times of India a while ago, about couples who are opting not to have children owing to rising population and other crisis. I want to tell them, just adopt. A lot of them don’t want kids at all. Of course, that’s their choice and they are entitled to it, but I want them to just think once about adoption. Surrogacy, IVF —people do so many things to have their biological children. Give adoption a thought, too.
Your daughter is a little over three years. Do you think of talking to her about where she has come from, how you brought her home…and things like that?
She understands Bengali now and is really sharp. Now that she goes to an English school, she understands English as well, so I avoid using certain words in front of her. I spell the word adopt in front of her instead of saying it. Some orphanages believe that the children should know, so she knows that she has come from another place. That’s all she knows. She thinks I am the new mom as I picked her from the place where her biological parents dropped her off. Slowly that memory has faded. Now, she believes that I am the one who dropped her at that place, and I am the one who picked her up as well. As she grows older, she will start making sense of it on her own. It will never be a shock or a surprise for her. Another beautiful thing is that she has never asked me about her Dad. In the park one day, a little boy asked her why she doesn’t have a dad. She told him, “But you don’t have daadi and dada. I have them and mom.” These days, kids are so mature and adaptable. Their emotional maturity is amazing. As adults, we underestimate them.
The world is getting cynical. This step that you have taken makes it hopeful, isn’t it? To give a better life to someone…
A lot of people thought that I was being pessimistic for not wanting to give birth to children in this world. Environmentally, we are a disaster. Be it war or climate crisis, look at what we have done to our planet. Greta Thunberg (16-year-old Swedish teenage environmental activist) is speaking for all of us. Food is adulterated, oxygen is depleting. What are we leaving for our future generation? Why not help those who already exist? All of these things posed many questions. We are destroying the planet and there is no value for human life. Survival is the biggest challenge. A child brings so much love and beauty to your life. You can give the child a nice home. My child has adopted me and not the other way around; it was so organic.
There are challenges of raising a child as a single mom, especially when you are working in an industry that is so demanding and fast-paced, right?
I don’t want to compete with men, and I don’t want to be a man. I want to celebrate my femininity. But equality also means that I don’t need to be taken care of. I am an adult and I make my choices and live my life according to what suits my interests. Also, yes, your life does change after a child comes into your life. I can have friends over after she goes to sleep, but I rarely go out now and it’s all worth it.
Akshay Kumar is doing great work in his own commercial way. Hats off to him-Deepti Naval
7:57 AM
Deepali Singh (DNA; March 24, 2018)
When we spoke to Deepti Naval a few days ago, the actress was gearing up for the 75th show of her play, Ek Mulaqat, based on the love story of Sahir Ludhianvi and Amrita Pritam. But that’s not all that the veteran artiste is busy with. In fact, Deepti, who already has a couple of books under her name, is in the middle of writing her next. “Earlier, I had published books of my poetry and short stories. Whenever a show comes, I take a break, but then I get back to my writing,” she says, refusing to divulge any further details about her new work.
The actress believes that today, content is king, and it’s a good time for stars as well as actors to showcase their prowess. “With the kind of subjects being explored these days, both are getting to do what they want. It’s not art house cinema anymore. It’s interesting cinema which is presented commercially and that’s what I like about it,” she adds. Talking about the recent films, she admits that she liked Toilet - Ek Prem Katha. “That was the last movie I saw in the theatre and I loved it! Now, I want to watch Pad Man. I think Akshay (Kumar) is doing great work — something which is so necessary — in his own commercial way. Hats off to him for picking these subjects! I love the fact that he’s choosing to tell such stories, pointing a finger at them and saying, ‘Look, here is a problem, let’s tackle it’. I like that kind of spirit,” she says.
The veteran actress has kept her passion for movies alive with her performances in movies such as NH10, Listen... Amaya, and Tevar among others. “I have been reading a lot of scripts and I’m waiting for The Boy With The Topknot to release in India,” she says of the movie based on the memoirs of British journalist Sathnam Sanghera. “It’s the first time I got to speak in my mother tongue, Punjabi, in a film. I enjoyed that immensely,” she says. Deepti admits that at her age, interesting roles are hard to come by. “After doing movies like Memories in March, Listen... Amaya, and The Boy With The Topknot, I’m hopeful that interesting characters will come my way, where I get to play my age, but don’t have to do anything stereotypical,” she concludes.
Shekhar Suman and Deepti Naval's play Ek Mulaaqat to complete 75 shows tomorrow
7:05 AM
Shekhar Suman and Deepti Naval talk about Ek Mulaaqat, their play that will complete 75 shows tomorrow
Deepali Singh (DNA; March 16, 2018)
Watching Deepti Naval transform into Amrita Pritam and recite her Punjabi poetry on stage, one would find it difficult to believe that Ek Mulaqaat is the actress’ first theatre outing. As for Shekhar Suman, the actor, in his own words, was born to play Sahir Ludhianvi — the Urdu poet and lyricist. The play, which is based on their love story and directed by Saif Hyder Hasan, has received a positive response from audiences across the world and will be staged for the 75th time tomorrow, in Mumbai.
Connecting with audiences worldwide
Shekhar tells After Hrs that the first time he heard the script, two thoughts ran through his mind. Apprehension, because he wasn’t sure if the audience would connect to this drama and, absolute joy because he felt that it was destiny that made this role come his way. He says, “I didn’t know if there is still a discerning audience that will connect with the nazms and poetry of Sahir and Amrita. A lot of the play is in Urdu and Punjabi, so that was a concern as well. But all my apprehensions were put to rest in the first show itself, when people came up to us and said that they had been waiting for a production like this,” he recalls. After doing 74 shows that have gone houseful not only in different cities in India, but also in places like Singapore and London, Shekhar says he has realised something. “Poetry, music, literature — anything that is beautiful has no language. People relate to the essence of it,” he opines.
While Shekhar might have had his doubts, Deepti, who is one of the finest actresses on screen, had her own misgivings which had nothing to do with the play itself. “Ek saath itni lines kabhi yaad nahin ki thi. I was so sure I was going to forget my lines; I was panic-stricken!” she laughs. She thought the story was “wonderful” when she read it for the first time, and knew it would go down well with the audience as well. “But the fact that it received so much love from them, came as a pleasant surprise,” she adds.
Becoming Sahir and Amrita
For Shekhar, portraying Sahir came easily. Not just because he is quintessentially a theatre actor, but also because he was obsessed with the artiste’s nazms. “Even at an age when I didn’t understand his poetry, I would recite it because I liked the sound of it,” he recalls. The role went to many actors before landing in his lap. He says, “At the cost of sounding dramatic, I am Sahir.”
"I was pre-destined to play him. I knew so much about him that I had to learn very little once I said yes to it,” says the actor, who even visited Government College, Ludhiana, where Sahir had studied. “I went to the auditorium, now known as Sahir Auditorium, and touched the ground where he once stood and rendered his nazms,” the actor tells us.
For Deepti, too, playing Amrita carried its own significance. Not only because she is a huge fan of the poetess and writer’s works, but also because she knew Amrita on a personal level and had met her several times, when the latter was alive. “I would visit her at her residence in Delhi whenever I would get the opportunity to go there and we would talk about life and poetry. I also have very fond memories of Imroz saab (Amrita’s husband). Though this play is not about him, theirs is a crucial love story, too. Of course, Sahir-Amrita is unrequited love. Somehow, jo cheez nahin milti, uski ahmiyat badh jaati hai,” she says with a smile.
The show will go on
What also worked in the play’s favour was the fact that the two actors have mutual admiration and respect. “Shekhar is such a man of words and diction and lehja. So, it has been a pleasure to work with him. Of course, I’m also known for my work and diction, so I can say it’s a play of equals,” she smiles.
Shekhar, on his part, remembers how he had to “coax and mollycoddle” the stage-newcomer since she was “mortally afraid of being on stage”. He recalls, “She just kept wanting to wriggle out of it and I kept insisting that she will enjoy it because theatre is the only medium where actors get instant gratification. So, I told her not to be scared and try it out and she’s so happy that she did it. And now, her first question after every show is, when are we doing the next play?”
The play will be staged tomorrow at 7.30 pm at Ravindra Natya Mandir, Prabhadevi.
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