If not for filmmaker Sooraj R Barjatya, Renuka Shahane would possibly have given up acting nearly three decades ago. At least, that, she recalls, had been the plan. After playing Pooja in the 1994 blockbuster, Hum Aapke Hain Koun…!, Shahane had almost made up her mind to quit being in front of the camera. She wanted to pursue a filmmaking course at the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune. "I told Sooraji about my plans. And he said, 'Are you crazy, you just can't leave [acting]'." Barjatya instead suggested that she learn on the job. "He said, 'Look at me, I don't have technical training. If you get a good team [to work with you], and have a vision and story to tell, nothing should stop you.' That seemed to make a lot of sense, because I was getting a lot of [acting] offers at that time," recounts Shahane, when we speak to her days ahead of the release of her Hindi directorial debut on Netflix, Tribhanga—Tedhi Medhi Crazy.

Starring Kajol, Tanvi Azmi, and Mithila Palkar, it's a dream that took an eternity to realise, but patience has been second nature to her. "I have always been passionate about direction. I began by assisting Dr Vijaya Mehta in the serial Lifeline [it aired on Doordarshan]. I was the fourth assistant there. Vijayabai was like an institution. She was so thorough and such a great guru to have. At that point, I thought I am going to do this forever. After my MA in Psychology, I was planning to do a PhD and then go to film school. Basically, I wanted to take the proper route and get trained. But life happened, and I became a professional actor."

She, however, kept waiting for an opportunity to come to her. In the late 1990s, she directed an episode for Zee Television's Rishtey, a drama series that focused on human relationships. "I took a sabbatical when my kids were born. At that time, it was my husband [Ashutosh Rana], who reminded me of my dream. He said, 'Listen you have some time at home, so why don't you work on a screenplay?'" Shahane turned homewards for inspiration, directing the Marathi film Rita (2009), based on her mother, veteran writer-translator Shanta Gokhale's book, Rita Welingkar. "I absolutely loved that novel, and because it was my mom's work, I didn't have to worry with permissions," she laughs. "When the screenplay turned out well, mom said, 'You have a writer in you'."

It's around that time that the two worlds of writing and direction collided. This is the first time that Shahane is bringing an original story of hers to life, and it hasn't come easy. "These characters first formed in my head in 2013, when I had participated in Mumbai Mantra's Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab. Though, I had done a film, I had wanted some mentoring, in order to understand how stories are constructed," she says.

The idea for the plot, Shahane says, had come to her many years ago, when she was shooting for the show, Surabhi (1990-2001) with Siddharth Kak. "I had met a woman who was recently married. She told me that she was finally happy to be free from the clutches of her mother, whom she hated. I was stunned by the fact. I have such an excellent relationship with mine; she is my core. That was really the starting point. I wanted to write about women, who are not looking for men to marry, who are not somebody's wives. It was also about the choices they made, how those choices passed down from generation to generation. That is at the crux of the story."

When an estranged mother (Azmi) slips into coma, her daughter played by Kajol, a self-made single mom grapples with regret and resentment, while reflecting on their strained relationship.

The script, she says, was mentored at the lab with writers like Bill Wheeler, Anjum Rajabali and Asif Kapadia giving her direction and suggestions. But, it took another three years to develop it, before director Siddharth Malhotra agreed to produce it along with Ajay Devgn.

During this time, it was Gokhale, who was her sounding board. "It's just so nice to have her around. Writing can be a very lonely process, and you require a support system that truly understands what you go through, and mom understands that beautifully. She has also written scripts. There are these tricks of the trade that she shares with me, or some perspective that she comes up with, which helps break the writer's block that I experience very often," says Shahane, adding, "I must admit that I am not a prolific writer. If it flows, it really flows. Sometimes, I am interrupted by everyday duties, and there can be months, when I am absolutely blank in the head. That's when my mother's tricks help me."

Gokhale, she says, is not just a gifted storyteller, but also her biggest inspiration. "I think mom's writing and thought process has influenced me a lot. She is such a committed writer, and there is so much that I need to learn from her—the discipline, the craft. And these you cannot just pass down. But, whenever she reads my writing, she says that I have a quirkiness, which she would love to have in her own. That, I think, is a big compliment."

Shahane now hopes to continue writing and direction, even more seriously. "Everyone in my team is telling me that I better not take another 10 years to make the next film," she says, breaking into giggles. "To be honest, I really like the process of writing. I am not fond of being in the public eye. That's a journey that I am very uncomfortable with. Although, I am on social media, and I am a very social person, I love my solitude.

Writing allows me that," she says. "I might, though, look out for scripts by other writers [that I can direct], because writing for me is very slow. I am also overcritical about my work. So, if it takes time, it does."

Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; August 6, 2020)

Renuka Shahane has, in a series of tweets, voiced what she’s feeling about the developments in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case. When we reached out to her, the actor says the only people who need to know the truth, more than anyone, are Rajput’s family.

“It’s so sad, the whole conversation is conducted on social media or media... somebody says something, and the entire focus is on that. We’re not giving police space to conduct their investigation the way they want to. Then, there is political pressure. We want to know the truth, but is this the way you keep shifting goalposts, targeting people on the basis of nothing?” she says. What also irked Shahane, 55, was a tweet by Amruta Fadnavis, wife of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, stating Mumbai has “lost humanity”. “What got my goat was people accusing Mumbai of not having a heart. Where’s that coming from? Amruta Fadnavis has a lot of power, not like you and me. If there’s something definite, and you want to come out and accuse, what’s stopping you? But you’re shifting blame to some things nameless and faceless like Mumbai city,” she maintains.

Happy with the decision to hand over probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), as she feels it will put several speculations to rest, the actor says, “They should get to the bottom of it. It’s been a long time since his death. If the reason of his death was suicide and if there were abetters, they should be held guilty. If it is a murder, the murderers should be caught.”

Shahane, who was Rajput’s co-contestant in Jhalak Dikhla Jaa, feels the case has become Bihar vs Mumbai now. “Are we getting closer to the truth? No. We’ll take longer because now, two state governments are against each other. For heaven’s sake, one person has tragically passed away, there’s no dignity or what? All you want to do is point fingers. Today, the target is nepo kids, tomorrow, the gangs of Bollywood,” retorts the actor, whose husband, Ashutosh Rana, worked with Rajput in Sonchiriya (2019).

What she also finds “ridiculous” is people trying to pretend to be “closer”. She adds, “Sab apni apni roti sek rahe hain. I can understand if they’ve got problems with the conclusion, par aane toh do.”

Miffed with news channels which are airing dramatic re-enactments of Rajput’s post-mortem using mannequins, Shahane asks, “Can you get lower? Is this the kind of thing that’s going to get you closer to the truth?”

The actor says that this year, she’ll not be able to make it to her mother’s place on Gudi Padwa
Kavita Awaasthi (HINDUSTAN TIMES; March 25, 2020)

“This year, the plan was to go to my mum’s place on Gudi Padwa as she was planning to prepare a traditional Marathi lunch, which is rare for me, and I was looking forward to it. But it won’t happen,” says Renuka Shahane, who feels she might not get the batasa (sugar candy), neem and mango leaves and garlands for the puja. “There is no cause for celebration this year. Moreover, I don’t celebrate festivals in public, so the manner in which we celebrate Gudi Padwa will remain the same. We will do the gudi puja and I will make shrikhand at home. We will all be together and that will be a moment to cherish,” she shares.

With the Coronavirus pandemic, Shahane feels blessed that none of her family members had travelled abroad, so there was no reason to be concerned. She says, “But one can’t be selfish. We should also look at the repercussions globally, and in our country. The lockdown has to be taken seriously as we can’t take things lightly. The ones with privilege should try and help the ones who are the most affected by the pandemic — at least those around us. The pandemic will affect us all for a very long time as it is a war-like situation with the amount of casualties. The world is so connected and that is the main reason why the virus spreads so fast.”

The actor adds, “One will have to rethink many things including much-needed changes in our lifestyle, how we are treating Mother Earth and other species on this planet.”

She is enjoying having her husband (Ashutosh Rana, actor) at home 24x7 but reveals that her life hasn’t changed much as she has asked her staff to stay at home. “I am used to them taking leaves on Ganeshostav and summer holidays, so this phase isn’t new to me. I am used to doing the housework. But what is surprising is that people are cribbing about spending time with family. I’m shocked to hear that because don’t we all want to spend time with family? Some people are so strange,” she says.

Calling out Nana Patekar for his volatile temper, Renuka Shahane, in her support, says Tanushree Dutta’s allegations haven’t come out of the blue
Mayuri Phadnis (BOMBAY TIMES; October 2, 2018)

“Alfred Hitchcock was a very good filmmaker and I love his work, but he was known to mistreat his actresses. For them, working with him was a nightmare. So, a talented person may not necessarily be a good person,” says Renuka Shahane, who recently came out in support of Tanushree Dutta, who has accused Nana Patekar of sexually aggressive behaviour on the sets of the movie Horn Ok Pleassss.

In a post on her Facebook page, Renuka shared that Nana is known for his volatile temper. She wrote, “Many men and women in the film industry have faced his wrath (sic).” Speaking to us, Renuka adds, “He is known for his volatile temper. Not just with women, but with men as well.” Renuka feels that a person may not share the same comfort level with everyone. “There are times when an actress may feel uncomfortable with scenes or dance moves. In such situations, it is best to work around it as a team. Instead, in this case, Tanushree was bullied,” says Renuka, adding that the said dance step could have been easily changed without affecting the song or film.

“Replacing an actor for refusing to do a scene is within the purview of the makers but such intimidation is absolutely unnecessary and uncalled for,” she says. While many have been questioning why Tanushree didn’t raise a complaint when the incident took place, Renuka clears things, adding, “Tanushree had raised a complaint 10 years ago with the Cine and TV Artists Association (CINTAA). She hasn’t come up with these allegations out of the blue.”

Ask her if this is Bollywood’s #MeToo movement and Renuka replies, “I don’t think a movement on the scale that had happened in Hollywood is possible here. At least the women there had the freedom to speak up. Yet, it took a while for them to come out and voice their concerns. So imagine how much time it would take our industry to reach that level. Having said that, with women standing up for themselves, I feel this is a start and, fortunately, earlier than expected.”

She adds that she would not blame the women in Bollywood because character assassination and victim blaming are biggest concerns in our country. “People do not try to understand the points you are making. They feel you are targeting a man with an impeccable character,” says Renuka.

Elaborating on the issues women in Bollywood face, she says that from misogynistic jokes to filmmakers asking actresses to meet them in hotel rooms, and suggesting them to come alone, such occurrences are very common in the industry. “‘Role toh aapko milega, lekin compromise karna padega’ is a phrase which some filmmakers use directly,” says Renuka, adding, “What is this ‘compromise’? You cannot compromise in art. If an actress is not talented, do not cast her. It’s as simple as that.” The actress says that if a relationship is consensual, then it’s all right, but forcing someone to do something is not right. “Why should roles depend on sexual favours?” she asks.

Neha Maheshwri (BOMBAY TIMES; March 5, 2018)

Be it the ever-smiling anchor of Surabhi or Salman Khan’s demure bhabhi from Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, everyone remembers Renuka Shahane as the girl next door with the brightest grin ever. At the same time, anyone active on Twitter in recent times has come across her socially-relevant posts and knows that she has no qualms in voicing her opinions, even if it is at the cost of sounding politically-incorrect. As this hands-on mom is all set for her Bollywood comeback after a long hiatus with the upcoming film 3 Storeys, we catch up with the actress on motherhood, social media and more. Excerpts...

In a career spanning 25 years, you have done just a handful of films in Bollywood. What kept you away from the big screen?
After Hum Aapke Hain Koun…! (HAHK), I was getting roles similar to that of Pooja (her character in the film) and that is what kept me away. Since I am from theatre, doing something routine on screen did not seem challenging. Besides, I was getting exciting roles on TV, which is a time-consuming medium. Also, I delivered my firstborn in 2002, a year after my marriage. By then, I had reached a saturation point. I was working round the clock and I needed to take time off to be with my children. In fact, I still don’t think that they are independent enough for me to get back to work. However, I have been active in Marathi cinema and TV and I am happy to keep in touch with the Marathispeaking audience. Now, interesting things are happening in the cinema space, too. I think 3 Storeys will prove that I could do other roles apart from playing a pyaari bhabhi (laughs!). It’s a leap of faith for the makers to cast me. Who would have thought of casting me as Flory Mendonca? Today, A-list actors are playing a variety of roles and they could have approached anybody for this part.

You shared a video on sensitizing boys about menstruation last year. This year, Pad Man highlighted a similar topic. Do you think Indian cinema is headed in the right direction?
Yes, I do, because when a superstar like Akshay Kumar educates the masses about menstrual hygiene, it is important. People look up to Bollywood so much that when a male superstar says something like this, changes start happening in our society. Such topics are no longer restricted to only those who are involved in women’s causes. I am just hoping for that day when we do not have to wrap our sanitary pads in black polythene bags, like it is some national secret or a bomb (laughs!). Also, the kind of value women have in films these days and the roles they are getting to play… it is a massive change. Both men and women, who are sensitive to such topics, are making films with a humanistic approach. They are trying to lend that kind of realness and sensitivity to their films. Today, even married actresses command their fan following with films riding on their shoulders. Forget marriage, even childbirth is not detrimental to their careers. That is a massive change.

Your Twitter handle says ‘Mommy without a pause! At other times, writer, director and actor’. But for years now, your focus has been raising your children.
Totally. I am a hands-on mother. I have been their anchor since their birth. It’s been nine years since I took a sabbatical. Playing mom to my boys is what I do for most part and I love it. There is no regret at all, as this is what I have always wanted. I cannot tell you how much I have learnt about myself and the world as a mother. If I were working, I would be yearning to spend some quality time with them, but now I have all the time for them. Even I had that advantage when I was growing up. My mother did not work till I turned nine. It is a personal choice, and I wanted to give the same kind of security to my children. But to each his own. I am not good at multitasking, while there are others who thrive on that. They like to manage several things at a time, get up, fill lunch boxes, go to work, come back home, look after their homework and cook. I think that choice should be respected. Along with that, the choices that men make should also be respected. They should also have the choice of taking a back seat and spending quality time with their children. A family should decide who is inclined to doing what. In my case, it looks patriarchal because my husband is working and I am staying at home. But that is my dream. I didn’t want to become an actress. I wanted children and I am living that dream. When people say that it has been a setback in my career, probably it has as an artiste, but not as a human being.

People call you a social media crusader. Is it easier for you to express yourself today?
Oh yes! I would say so because otherwise, where would you speak up? Social media gives me that kind of space and it makes my fans aware of how I am as a human being. It has been great. Especially when college kids meet me now, the first thing they talk about is, ‘We read your posts. You’ve done a good job in expressing your views and opinions, which is what we feel, but can’t express openly.’ Social media has helped me connect with young people, who might not be familiar with my work. This platform is democratic. There are extreme views and abusive trolls as well. At the same time, there are people who try to make some sense and perhaps, speak on behalf of those who might not be able to put their own thoughts into words. So many people tell me that, ‘Ye jo aapne kaha, this is exactly how I feel, but I could not write.’ So, it is that sense of being a representative.

When you are trolled, does it affect you deeply?
Initially, I would be shocked as I had never faced hatred of this kind, but soon I realised it was all orchestrated and not personal. Earlier, I would spend hours discussing topics and sometimes it worked and many of the trolls turned around and apologized. I have always maintained that I have no issues with people having a different point of view, but I have a problem with the way they say it. I respect your opinion, so why can’t you respect mine? Mudslinging matches on social media can affect people emotionally. Rana ji (husband Ashutosh Rana) would come home and ask me, ‘Were you on Twitter today? You look like a mess’, and I would say, ‘Yes, I had a very long battle (laughs!)’. In fact, people in the industry express shock and tell me that did not know I have this side to me.

You were trolled for your post on Salman Khan, in connection to his comment on rape and the black buck case. Later, you cleared your stand by saying that you are not anti-Salman. Did you ever regret posting anything?
I wanted to clear my stand as people often misrepresent facts. Somebody took up what I said related to the judiciary and then put it out of context, which said that ‘Salman’s bhabhi slaps him in a post’. That is ridiculous and we should not encourage this nonsense. There are nuances in what I have written and anybody reading that should know it is not anti-Salman, but my posts are questions that the judiciary needs to ask itself. I cleared my stand but it was not a way to say sorry for what I had written. Today, I would not have done it as I have also changed on social media. Earlier, I would have tried to clarify that my purpose is not to hurt people. I have every right to talk about what is going on around me, even if it is about people from my industry. If associations go kaput because of that, they do. One just has to face the consequences because this is something I stand for and I don’t mind saying it.

Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 20, 2017)

Reema Lagoo suffered a heart attack in the early hours of May 18. Along with the tribute, Mirror carried some ethereal black-and-white pictures of the actress which were clicked by her friend Renuka Shahane at Filmistan Studio during the shoot of Sooraj Barjatya’s 1994 film Hum Aapke Hain Koun…!

“During the 130-day shoot Reema Tai and I shared the same make-up room. She was the superstar of Marathi theatre and I’d watched her performances in plays like Savita Damodar Paranjape and Ghar Tighancha Hava. By then she had found a footing in Bollywood and was a senior artiste. She wasn’t very talkative but in the course of sharing a room and our tiffins she grew protective of me. If a stranger tried to act over-friendly with me, she’d raise an eyebrow in warning,” Renuka reminisces adding that though she played her daughter in the film, Reema was only nine years older than her.

Since it was huge cast, getting ready took a lot of time. Reema didn’t like spending too much time on hair and make-up so she’d get dressed and wait for the others. Renuka was experimenting with photography at the time and asked the senior actress if she’d model for her before the shooting began. “She was embarrassed initially but agreed and would wait patiently as, being an amateur photographer, I kept adjusting the focus and angles. I gave the pictures to her after developing and she loved them. She shared them with a publication when they profiled her too. For me they were a celebration of Reema Tai but I’m happy they’ve found their place in tributes to her,” says Renuka.

They reunited for a gritty Marathi film being shot in Kolhapur, with Reema playing Renuka’s mother-in-law. “She had become a larger-than-life screen mom by then, having played Rishi Kapoor’s mother in Prem Granth. She was never bothered about playing maa and was warm with everyone, in particular Soorajji’s young assistants who found ways of striking up a conversation with her. She used to discuss their dreams and ambitions with them for hours. She left all of us too early,” Renuka signs off with a heavy heart.

The actor-director on her obsession with human nature and how it inspired her script about three women across generations
Kunal Guha (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 9, 2016)

When Renuka Shahane directed her first film Rita (2009), which was adapted from her writer and journalist mother Shanta Gokhale’s book Rita Welinker, she thought she’d “direct a film every two years”. That, however, did not happen. Instead, Shahane had to wait seven years for her next opportunity. Now, the script for her female-centric drama, Tribhanga, has been selected for NFDC’s Film Bazaar for production collaborations with makers across the globe.

Speaking of her upcoming project, she reflects on its evolution. “When I first wrote it, it was just to check if my writing skills had gotten rusted,” she says with her trademark smile. To put her work to test, she submitted it to the Sundance Mumbai Mantra Script Lab in 2013. “When I went to the script lab, I had no idea about the grammar of scriptwriting. My mentor, Malia Scotch Marmo (writer of Steven Spielberg’s Hook, 1991) was happy with my characterisation but felt that I needed to learn the basics of screenplay writing, especially how the story needs to be told.” Shahane also credits Marmo for introducing her to “the universality of the subject”. “She told me that people will respond if the story was told with conviction.”

Tribhanga is about three women from different generations and is inspired by the asymmetric Odissi pose, which has breaks in three places — neck, waist and knees — “and yet it is a sensual form”. “The three characters (in Tribhanga) are like the three breaks and yet they are all joined,” she says of the story which is partly in English (70 percent) and Marathi (30 percent). “The breakup is because that is how we speak.”

Shahane feels this is a great time for Marathi cinema. “You can really delve into the story and experiment with form. The Marathi cinema-goers have a liberal taste due their exposure to theatre and reading Marathi literature,” she adds. But despite this renaissance in regional cinema, Shahane reckons that there are still many challenges for a filmmaker today. “A disadvantage is the budget. This just means certain subjects are difficult to pitch or sell. Also, while the audience hasn’t increased over the years, the remuneration of stars has.” She holds one-time producers responsible for the whopping fees that actors charge. “They put in a lot of money to work with their favourite stars, often paying them more than what they’d make otherwise, and then the stars expect the same amount every time,” says Shahne who has a tentative cast on paper and shares that “it is the first thing a producer asks about a project”. “I’d like Rekhaji to play Anuradha,” she says of the character in her script who is a dancer and actress and shares a dysfunctional relationship with her mother Nayantara, who is in a coma.

The actress-turned-filmmaker’s desire to work behind the camera manifested early and she assisted Vijaya Mehta in the TV series Lifeline (1988) and even directed an episode for Zee TV’s Rishtey (1998). “I’d turn up early on the sets of Hum Aapke Hain Koun to understand how Sooraj-ji (Barjatya) would plan the day’s breakdown with his assistants. When I told him that I wanted to direct and planned to join FTII to learn the craft, he told me, ‘Ma’am, I don’t know the magnification of lenses, but there is a competent DOP for that. And if you are able to translate your vision to your team, you can direct’.” But her plans of wielding the megaphone were stalled after her marriage to actor Ashutosh Rana. “I had worked in TV for so long I needed a break and when I had kids (Shoryaman in 2002, Satyendra in 2004), I wanted to be there for them. We live in a nuclear family and I didn’t want my kids to be raised by maids,” she says, adding that her husband insisted she continue with the profession and even urged her to write. “Ranaji was the first to suggest that I should write and direct,” she says, adding, “And in 2004, after Shwaas released, a lot of exciting things were happening in Marathi cinema. I wanted work on a subject which dealt with human relationships as my interest lies in human nature and the various possibilities in interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships.” In 2006, Shahane wrote her first screenplay centered on child abuse. While it received a nod from husband and mother, it still remains on paper. “I will make that film one day for sure,” she smiles.

Renuka Shahane, who faced flak for her Salman Khan post, reveals she’s been on social media since 2008 and isn’t going to get off any time soon
Jane Borges (MID-DAY; August 28, 2016)

It's 5.30 in the evening, and we are dot on time for our interview with actress Renuka Shahane at a posh, suburban club. Still occupied in a meeting that we were forewarned about, she answers our phone call, but pushes in a request, "Could you please wait for five minutes?" When her engagement ends 20 minutes later, the actress is sincerely apologetic, and though not required, makes it a point to explain what caused the hold-up. She's the same person, who a month ago, refused to say sorry or cow down to loyal fans of actor Salman Khan, when she created a stir with a Facebook post that questioned the Bollywood superstar's acquittal in the chinkara poaching case.

While the post won her over 10,000 likes, and more than 3,100 shares, with comments oscillating between "brave woman" to "shame on you lady", the Marathi actress, tells us now, in the most of matter-of-fact way, "It was just my opinion, on my timeline."

"And, I have been doing that ever since I discovered social media, way back in 2008," she informs. "I find Facebook a great platform to put my thoughts out. It's not restrictive like Twitter, where you have only 140 characters to say what you feel," she says.

That it took an "anti-Khan" post to race the face of TV's most popular cultural show Surabhi, back in the limelight, is not lost on her. "People thought I was doing it for publicity," she says. "Do I need it?" she asks, and immediately follows it with an affirmative, "No!"

Despite a few acting projects that keep her busy, 49-year-old Shahane, who is married to award-winning actor Ashutosh Rana and is mother to two sons Shauryaman and Satyendra, likes to describe herself as a full-time homemaker, and a content one at that too. Having an opinion, she says, comes naturally to her, thanks to her mother, veteran writer, theatre critic and journalist Shanta Gokhale. "Her core values of honesty, non-discrimination and independent thinking, have passed down to me," says Shahane.

Only last week, she made news again, when she robustly opposed the use of fairness creams. "Achievement has nothing to do with the colour of any body's skin!!! So stop watching the regressive, moronic, simpering, over made-up women & their inconsequential, irritating male counterparts in our daily soaps on tv & get a reality check about what we as Indians have been achieving (sic)," she wrote, possibly taking a dig at her own fraternity.

Her views, sometimes angry, often thought-provoking have made her a talking point of late. "All we need today is for one post to go viral, and then suddenly people watch out for what you have to say," she says, while referring to the Khan post. "But, honestly, I did not see this coming," she insists.

Here was an actress, who had once played Khan's doting bhabhi in the 1994 family drama Hum Aapke Hain Koun, and was now being openly critical about his acquittal, when most of Bollywood was rallying around the actor. "This had nothing to do with Salman, the actor," she clarifies. "I have worked with him before, and he is genuinely one of the most generous and kindest people I have met." "I was questioning the legal system. The courts are one place where we expect justice, but are we getting that? Yes, I asked if money had exchanged hands...but it is not the first time that anyone has asked these questions,"
she says.

While her views resonated with some, Shahane wasn't prepared for the brickbats, she received. "I get trolled on Twitter constantly, and sometimes for the most harmless opinions. People have something negative to say about the most positive of things."

Her trolls spiralled when she published her thoughts on the chinkara case on July 25. "Salman's fans were so upset with me. They said illogical things, and took personal digs at me. One person was extremely mean and called me a 'prostitute'. I had to register a complaint with Maneka Gandhi, who only recently urged women harassed on social media, to contact her directly on her Twitter handle," she says. "The problem is that when you are a blind follower of anybody, it results in being nasty towards anybody who might not conform to your view," she says.

However, the issue here, she says, is being a woman and having an opinion. "People don't like intelligent women on social media, especially Twitter," she says. "Misogyny is the riding force. I told my husband that if you had said the very thing that I said (on Khan), you wouldn't have been abused the way I was. It is expected of men to have strong opinions, but when it comes to a woman, people can be down right nasty."

But, has it stopped her from voicing her thoughts? "Definitely, not," she says. "Why should you take sh**t from anybody? My opinions are not uninformed, and I seriously put a lot of thought into what I say. I come from a family of writers, and I write too. I am not just the 'sweet-smiling' person you see on screen. You can't be quiet because you fear receiving a lot of flak. Then, social change will never happen."

That brings us to what keeps Shahane busy these days. "Writing," she smiles. Shahane, who wrote her first screenplay for the Marathi film Rita (adapted from her mother's fiction), is currently in the midst of writing the screenplay for an English-Marathi film, which she intends to direct next year. "I manage to spare time for my writing, after my kids go to school because once they are at home, I am around them," she says. She just wrapped the Marathi show Comedychi Bullet Train, where she was one of the judges. But, for now, she'd like to take it slow. "I am glad that I can articulate the serious part of me, which is related to my mind," she says. "It's nice to be appreciated, and it's okay to be not, either."

Renuka Shahane offers to host activist Irom Sharmila, invites criticism for her late arrival on the activist scene
Ektaa Malik (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 13, 2016)

Renuka Shahane was his co-star in the popular serial Circus, way back in 1989
Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; November 2, 2015)


The first thing that struck me about Shah Rukh Khan was his awe-inspiring confidence. He was from Delhi and I was from Mumbai so he had a different way of talking and being. But once I got to know him as a co-star, I felt he was born to be a star.

During one of the shoots, I saw around 20,000 people waiting on the sets to see him. This was a big deal; such adulation was, till then, reserved for film stars. But Shah Rukh gained that kind of popularity with Fauji.

The best thing about him was he treated everybody equally — whether it was the producer or the spot boy. It was so refreshing that he didn’t believe in hierarchy. He was always full of energy and would survive on a cola and cigarettes throughout the day! We used to shoot in two shifts — day and night — and he would practically be in every scene. Yet, he would be fresh and ready for an extra shift if need be! He used to tell me, “Renuka if the director says jump, you should jump”. He is a complete performer, it’s in his bones. And, he thrives on appreciation.

Another thing I noticed about him is, he is extremely respectful towards women — their contributions and independence. I think it comes from the fact that he was close to his mother. His father passed away early and she was the driving force in his life.

Would you believe, in those days, he was clear that he was not interested in films! He would say he never wanted to do films and that he was happy doing TV. I remember when he signed his first film Dil Aashna Hai he had come on the sets (of Circus) with Viveck Vaswani, who was a close friend of mine. We were dying to know about the scenes he had shot then. At that time, he used to look at the film industry differently. He would find the whole idea of spot boys holding an umbrella for the stars and the alag treatment of them very funny. Here with Kundan Shah and Aziz sir, everybody was equal and we would have lunch together.

And yes, he was totally in love with Gauri. He was dating her, but he couldn’t call her directly, so he would make me or Anita (Sarin, an actress) call her landline (there were no mobiles then). Her parents would take the call and we would ask for Gauri, once she came on the line, Shah Rukh would take the phone. It was such fun and Shah Rukh loved Anita’s voice, so he would make her call often.

Today, we are not in touch, but whenever we meet, he greets me warmly. After Circus, I met him when I was shooting for Hum Aapke Hai.. Koun? and he was shooting for Baazigar and later when I was doing Kora Kagaz and he was doing Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani.

After all, you never forget the first people you work with.