April 5 will be a red-letter day for Raveena Tandon. On Wednesday, the actor received the Padma Shri for her contribution in the field of arts, from President Droupadi Murmu in Delhi. You can hear the happiness in her voice, as she reflects on her “proudest moment”.

“Receiving the Padma Shri in the presence of my family was the best moment. When I received it, and looked at my husband and children’s beaming faces, I felt that everything so far has been worth it,” says the actor, who was joined by husband Anil Thadani, daughter Rasha and son Ranbir on her big day.

In her 32-year run in the Hindi movie industry, the National Award-winning actor has built a robust filmography. Having debuted in the movies with Patthar Ke Phool (1991), she was the leading lady of many commercially successful films, before turning her attention to hard-hitting offerings like Shool (1999), Daman (2001), and Aks (2001).

“I tried to do movies on issues that I felt strongly about. The Nirbhaya case had shaken me so much that I was keen to do Maatr [2017]. Whether it was Daman, Jaago [2004] or Maatr, these films talked about violence against women, and [rallied for] women empowerment. I love commercial cinema, but I also look at projects that will make a difference to society.”

A section of social media users questioned why she was conferred with the country’s fourth-highest civilian award. But Tandon knows that with bouquets, come brickbats.

“I don’t want to give any importance to them as they have their own agenda. The comments of few, who have 20 followers and haven’t seen the work that I have done, will not diminish my body of work. Trolls only see the glamour; they don’t see the hard work and long hours we put in. We know how polarized things are on social media today, but others have sent such beautiful [wishes].”

Outside of films, Tandon has constantly championed various causes, from environmental conservation to animal welfare. In 1995, she adopted two girls, Pooja and Chhaya, as a single mother.

Reflecting on it, she says, “I feel a sense of accomplishment when I give back to society that has given me so much. When I built a functional orphanage for 30 girls, or I [ensured] that oxygen cylinders reached [hospitals] in Delhi during the pandemic, it gave me a sense of gratification. Some people don’t know [about it] because I don’t do them for publicity. I am not doing it for people to see, but so that it makes a difference [to society].”

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While fame and luxury might seem like the key facets of a celebrity’s life, erratic shoot hours, sleepless nights and prioritizing work over personal life are often part of the fame game, too. Recently, in an interview with author-lyricist Neelesh Misra, politician and former actor Smriti Irani said that back in the day, she had to return to the shoot of producer Ekta Kapoor’s TV show Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi a day after suffering a miscarriage. “I returned because I needed money to pay EMIs for my house,” Irani said.

Here, actors tell us about instances when they kept a personal crisis aside to fulfil their work commitments.

Sometimes, you can be emotionally in a totally different state and you have to shoot for an opposite emotion. I remember a day when my mother was unwell, but I had to shoot a comedy scene. Darshakon ko isse matlab nahin hai ki aapka emotional state kya tha jab aapne koi scene shoot kiya. Yahin pe actor ka commitment aa jaata hai. Another instance was two weeks ago. I was so sick that I couldn’t speak. But I went for the shoot because I didn’t want the entire unit to suffer.

I broke my knee in 2022 on the set of Indian Police Force (her upcoming web project). It was the most debilitating moment of my life. I had committed to a lot of things and everything came to a standstill. But there was one event that I could not back out of as the organizers had arranged everything. I kept my word and reached on a wheelchair, but it was really hard.

I was running a 102-degree fever when I shot for the song Vaddi Sharaban (De De Pyaar De; 2019). My mum did cold pattis in-between the shots. Another difficult situation was when I was shooting for a project and I heard that my grandmother passed away. My dad asked me to come immediately, but I finished that day’s shoot, because I couldn’t have left it [midway]. The bright side is, we love our job so we push our physical and emotional boundaries.

In 2001, I was shooting for my show Jasoos Vijay near Jaisalmer. My brother called and said that our father had passed away. The next minute, I was told the shot was ready, so I shot for the next two hours. There were 150 people on the set and if I’d left, they’d have been stuck for four days. Another instance was in April last year. I fell flat on my nose on the set of The Storyteller. The director asked me to go to the hospital, but I asked them to cover the cut with VFX and finished work.

The most difficult time was when I lost my father (filmmaker Ravi Tandon) on February 11, 2022. I was shooting for One Friday Night (2022) and since the makers had an urgent shoot to finish, I returned to work on February 13. I was not in the right frame of mind, but sometimes, you should keep yourself aside and think of others.

When Raveena Tandon heard that she had been conferred the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award given by the Indian government, her first reaction was not joy. Instead, she double-checked whether the news was true. “After the news sank in, I missed my dad [producer Ravi Tandon]. I felt that he was my guiding angel all through last year, as I won [multiple] awards. I felt overwhelmed and got teary-eyed after I heard I got the Padma Shri,” she begins.

The mood is naturally joyous at home. The actor says that husband Anil Thadani and son Ranbir Vardhan are one-upping each other in their bid to attend the ceremony with her in Delhi. She laughs, “Both are getting their suits ready, and telling one another that the other is not going with me.”

For the actor, the recognition comes after a 32-year run in the industry. While her filmography today boasts movies from mainstream and independent cinema, Tandon admits that at the time, it wasn’t easy to shed her glamorous image and bag author-backed roles in Shool (1999), Daman (2001), and Satta (2003).

“It was a conscious decision to step into arthouse cinema while doing commercial films with song-and-dance. [At the time], I felt stagnated and wondered how long I could keep doing these glamorous roles wearing stylish outfits. I had to push the boundaries of acting. Initially, it was tough to go beyond my glamorous image. I had to convince directors to cast me. When I wanted to do Shool, director E Niwas wanted to cast me, but producer Ram Gopal Varma wasn’t convinced. He told me, ‘I can only picture you dancing to Ankhiyon Se Goli Maare.’ [Eventually], when I was doing a poster shoot for Shool, Ramu walked past me. [I had transformed for the role] and he couldn’t recognize me.”

Movies aside, Tandon has become the first delegate from the entertainment industry to participate in W20 India, the arm of G20 that focuses on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment. Representing 675 million Indian women is an honour, says the National Award-winning actor.

“Having this summit is a fantastic opportunity to empower women and provide them with more rights for their social and economic participation. We want to bring to the fore the achievements of women delegates, and the issues that have been plaguing them in professional and social sectors.”

“What? Really? You’re kidding, right?” is actor Raveena Tandon’s reaction, as we are the first to inform her about the Padma Shri. “I feel so honoured and grateful. I want to thank my fans. It’s because of their love that I could sustain in the industry for so many years. I was not expecting this at all. I don’t know how to react,” she exclaims.

A star for three decades, Tandon has always maintained a fine balance between commercial films such as Mohra (1994) and offbeat ones such as Daman (2001) that fetched her a National Film Award, too. The actor, who is in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) when she learns about the honour, says that all she’s ever focused on is her work and never the rewards.

“I have never worked for awards. God has been really kind that my work has been recognized. I am a pretty neutral person, who locks horns with everyone. Sometimes I think nobody likes me, but somewhere in the universe, there’s someone watching over me,” says the 50-year-old.

What makes the honour extra special for the Aranyak actor is that her name was announced as Raveena Ravi Tandon, referring to her late father, filmmaker Ravi Tandon. “It is unbelievable. Every time I went on stage to receive an award in the recent times, I’d look up and say, ‘Thank you, papa’. In February, it’s going to be a year [since his death]. It’s also his birthday the same month. Raveena Ravi Tandon felt really special,” the actor gets emotional.

Tandon has been chosen by the ministry to be a delegate at the prestigious W20, the Women’s Empowerment engagement wing at G20 India’s Presidency. Elated at the two honours, she says, “I am a delegate there because of my social work and the Padma Shri is for my art.”

Raveena Tandon has spent over three decades in the Hindi film industry and the actor says that survival in showbiz is not easy. “Despite having such a great father (late filmmaker Ravi Tandon), people tried to bury me and reject me, but I fought back every time. It was not easy. This really bothers me about this industry that talented artistes never get a chance to prove themselves easily,” says Tandon, who celebrated her 48th birthday recently.

She adds, “I don’t appreciate the dirty politics that’s been going on in the industry for ages. In my 30-year-long career, I have seen so many people struggling to keep afloat and fight back. Some survive, some don’t and that’s so shattering to see.”

Tandon, who has been a part of several box-office hits, including Mohra (1994) and Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996), goes on to highlight the gender discrimination that’s been prevalent in showbiz and how things are changing for the better.

She shares, “Earlier, female actors were only given side roles. There were no interesting, eye-catching parts for women. But now, the industry has changed. Females get strong roles and they also get to pull off an entire movie single-handedly. The mindset of people has also evolved. They root for strong female characters. My roles as Kasturi Dogra (Aranyak) or Ramika Sen (KGF - Chapter 2), were loved.”

Tandon wants to explore different kinds of roles now. She says, “I don’t want to be typecast after Aranyak. At this stage of my career, I want to explore more genres and want to be remembered for my versatility.”