Showing posts with label Vandana Pathak. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vandana Pathak. Show all posts
I’m fine with playing mother to an actor my age; it challenges the actor in me-Vandana Pathak
10:31 AM
Hasti Doshi (BOMBAY TIMES; July 22, 2025)
In the TV show Tumm Se Tumm Tak, Vandana Pathak plays mother to Sharad Kelkar, who in real life is her age. So, does it bother her? “I was a part of Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka, where I played an older character. For an actor, it is challenging to portray characters that are younger or older than their actual age. For me, that has never been an issue. In fact, it challenges the actor in me. I’m fine with playing mother to an actor my age,” she replies, adding, “I believe it is my background in theatre which has shaped this mindset.”
Viewers associate Vandana more with comedy because of her past roles, but she doesn’t feel she has been typecast. She says, “When Khichdi was on, people felt that I might get typecast in comedy roles, but I have done roles in other genres, too. So I don’t let these things bother me.”
Despite her three-decade-long career, Vandana says she still has the enthusiasm of a newcomer. “For an actor, if you are satisfied, then it’s over. I still have the hunger. I took time off from work when my kids were younger. I’ve managed to balance things well, and maybe that’s why I’m still here, working.”
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Back after 11 years, Vandana Pathak embraces new show Tumm Se Tumm Tak, holding her father’s advice close to heart
Letty Mariam Abraham (MID-DAY; July 22, 2025)
After an 11-year hiatus from daily soaps, veteran actor Vandana Pathak is back on the small screen with Tumm Se Tumm Tak. Known for her iconic roles in Khichdi and Hum Paanch, Pathak opened up about the shifting trends in Indian television and why she chose to return now. While her classic shows are fan favourites, she says she “rarely watches her old shows”. “Nowadays, because of Instagram, clips and videos are everywhere. It’s mostly Khichdi because the younger generation doesn’t know Hum Paanch as much.”
She admits that TV shows back in the day told “soulful stories”, and the shift from weekly to daily programming impacted content quality. “Change is natural. A weekly show had its own charm; people used to wait for a week. Now, we don’t have time.”
However, she remains optimistic, believing change will follow once viewers start seeking meaningful content. “Frankly speaking, I’m coming after such a long time. When you’re working in TV, you watch other shows. Even if you don’t, you know what’s happening. My father [Arvind Vaidya] is in Anupamaa, so I know about it. I cannot debate on content, but I feel there is a need for an arc.”
It’s become increasingly common for Indian entertainment to remake regional shows for wider reach. Tumm Se Tumm Tak, which marks Pathak’s return, shares thematic similarities with the Kannada show Jothe Jothiyali, which ran for three years.
When asked why channels prefer adaptations over original content, she shares, “It’s ultimately between the producer and the channel. Sometimes remakes don’t work, and sometimes they do wonders. Dubbed and adapted content can take actors far and reach out to larger audiences.”
While long-running shows often lead actors to complain about monotony, Pathak follows advice from her father to stay grounded. “My father says, ‘Take one scene at a time and live every day’. Even at 84, he shoots for 20 to 22 days a month. He enjoys it. And I’m just like that. I enjoy my work.”
Comedy is not an easy thing to write and unfortunately, we don’t have good writers at present-Vandana Pathak
8:26 AM
Masumi Shah (BOMBAY TIMES; April 19, 2023)
In a career spanning nearly three decades, Vandana Pathak has brought some iconic characters to life – be it the fierce Meenakshi Mathur from Hum Paanch or the gossip-loving Jayshree Parekh in Khichdi. Recently, the veteran actress wrapped up filming for another instalment in the popular Khichdi franchise.
She says, “The cast of Khichdi is like family to me. Working with them again made me realise that nothing has changed between us. In fact, on our first day, our shoot was delayed because we were so busy catching up with one another!”
‘AUDIENCE WANTS FRESH CONTENT, BUT MAKERS ARE NOT READY TO EXPERIMENT’
Comedy has been a recurring genre in Pathak’s career, and having seen it evolve over the years, the actress says that the audience’s tastes have changed now. “The audience today is on the lookout for something fresh, especially with OTT offering all kinds of content. But makers are still serving them the same old stories. Even channels keep asking for content based on formulas that have worked in the past. Be it Khichdi, Hum Paanch or R K Laxman Ki Duniya, I did a lot of different shows even within the comedy genre. Makers don’t experiment like that anymore. Comedy is certainly not an easy thing to write and unfortunately, we don’t have good writers at present,” she says.
‘COMEDY IS A SERIOUS AFFAIR’
Having dabbled with both comic and negative characters, the actress says that while both require equal effort, comedy is extremely difficult. “Comedy is a serious affair. I still feel nervous before starting any show. Aaj bhi mere haath-paon thande ho jaate hain kai baar. Regardless of the genre, I always consider my characters as challenges because I don’t prefer to enact a scene in the same stereotypical manner that everyone is used to watching,” she says.
Many feel kuch bhi kar rahe hain… but that ‘kuch bhi’ is very deliberate-Aatish Kapadia
9:37 PM
The makers and cast of the upcoming comedy television show on the method behind the madness
Kunal Guha (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 30, 2018)
To enter the sets of the TV show Khichdi, one doesn’t need to go through the door. The bare-bones structure has no walls or ceiling but doors hanging from columns. Returning to the small screen after a hiatus of over a decade, there’s a rationale behind this decision — “their home went for redevelopment but the builder took to his heels without completing the project”. “While the show was initially meant to be without a plot, we have a lot of twists now,” shares Aatish Kapadia, the show’s writer, director and co-producer. For one, “the banter between onscreen bahu-sasur, Jayshree (Vandana Pathak) and Babuji (Anang Desai) would be more acerbic,” he says, ushering us to a room which has a painting of a hunter lying on the ground with a tiger holding his rifle standing over him.
A popular exchange on the show happens between the blissfully ignorant couple Hansa (Supriya Pathak) and Praful (Rajeev Mehta) and the scene being shot has Praful simplifying an English word for his wife in his signature style. “Arre Praful, opportunity matlab?” she enquires. “Arre Hansa, apni Mrs D’souza ki kaamwali bhaag gayi, toh usne police ko kya bola? ‘Meri kaamwali ne neeche salwar pehna tha aur ‘upar chunni thi’ — opportunity!’” responds Praful with a smug face.
“My contribution to Praful was trying to mimic Laurel from Laurel and Hardy. His gaped face was hilarious,” says Mehta. “But to pass off confidently as a duffer is not easy. Also, Praful is not a buffoon and has a twisted logic.” For Pathak, the decade-long break from the show was particularly painful. “I missed Hansa and kept urging Aatish to bring the show back,” says the veteran actress. That her character takes particular pains to match her jewelry with saris inspires Pathak to work on her appearance. “For all the other parts I’ve played, I’ve never bothered about makeup and costume but when I’m Hansa, I’ve very picky.”
The show was conceived in 2002 as “a rebellion against typical TV shows”. “Somebody told me that I can’t write for TV,” says Kapadia, also credited for shows such as Alpviram and Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka. “The early 2000s were a time when TV shows were harping on creating ‘relatable characters’ who respect elders. So, I swore to make a show with unrelatable characters who were unlike the pai-lagoo ones on TV.”
So Khichdi hoped to create “a cosmos of idiots who are honest, naked human beings who spoke their mind”. “A bahu who constantly inflicts pain on her sasur, another who detests household chores, were unheard of,” he explains. Supriya was sold on this ideology. “Most TV shows then were about conflicts and extra-marital affairs. So we thought that let’s have a family which is stupid as hell but gets along,” says the actress who loved the fact that her Hansa got along with her sisterin-law Jayshree (Vandana Pathak) despite her mean streak, which Vandana feels borders on villainy. “I love that Jayshree is not a bechari even though she’s tasked with all chores and is a widow,” she says.
But the show wasn’t an overnight success. “Then, the 19th episode where Babuji participates in a dance contest along with his grandchildren shot up the ratings,” says J D Majethia, the producer who also plays Himanshu on the show. That minors on the show are more mature compared to adults is after all, a strategic creative call. “Many feel kuch bhi kar rahe hain… but that ‘kuch bhi’ is very deliberate,” explains Kapadia, who is aware that the show was criticised for “showing Gujaratis in poor light”. “It’s self-deprecating humour and not a representation of a community,” he concludes.
To enter the sets of the TV show Khichdi, one doesn’t need to go through the door. The bare-bones structure has no walls or ceiling but doors hanging from columns. Returning to the small screen after a hiatus of over a decade, there’s a rationale behind this decision — “their home went for redevelopment but the builder took to his heels without completing the project”. “While the show was initially meant to be without a plot, we have a lot of twists now,” shares Aatish Kapadia, the show’s writer, director and co-producer. For one, “the banter between onscreen bahu-sasur, Jayshree (Vandana Pathak) and Babuji (Anang Desai) would be more acerbic,” he says, ushering us to a room which has a painting of a hunter lying on the ground with a tiger holding his rifle standing over him.
A popular exchange on the show happens between the blissfully ignorant couple Hansa (Supriya Pathak) and Praful (Rajeev Mehta) and the scene being shot has Praful simplifying an English word for his wife in his signature style. “Arre Praful, opportunity matlab?” she enquires. “Arre Hansa, apni Mrs D’souza ki kaamwali bhaag gayi, toh usne police ko kya bola? ‘Meri kaamwali ne neeche salwar pehna tha aur ‘upar chunni thi’ — opportunity!’” responds Praful with a smug face.
“My contribution to Praful was trying to mimic Laurel from Laurel and Hardy. His gaped face was hilarious,” says Mehta. “But to pass off confidently as a duffer is not easy. Also, Praful is not a buffoon and has a twisted logic.” For Pathak, the decade-long break from the show was particularly painful. “I missed Hansa and kept urging Aatish to bring the show back,” says the veteran actress. That her character takes particular pains to match her jewelry with saris inspires Pathak to work on her appearance. “For all the other parts I’ve played, I’ve never bothered about makeup and costume but when I’m Hansa, I’ve very picky.”
The show was conceived in 2002 as “a rebellion against typical TV shows”. “Somebody told me that I can’t write for TV,” says Kapadia, also credited for shows such as Alpviram and Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka. “The early 2000s were a time when TV shows were harping on creating ‘relatable characters’ who respect elders. So, I swore to make a show with unrelatable characters who were unlike the pai-lagoo ones on TV.”
So Khichdi hoped to create “a cosmos of idiots who are honest, naked human beings who spoke their mind”. “A bahu who constantly inflicts pain on her sasur, another who detests household chores, were unheard of,” he explains. Supriya was sold on this ideology. “Most TV shows then were about conflicts and extra-marital affairs. So we thought that let’s have a family which is stupid as hell but gets along,” says the actress who loved the fact that her Hansa got along with her sisterin-law Jayshree (Vandana Pathak) despite her mean streak, which Vandana feels borders on villainy. “I love that Jayshree is not a bechari even though she’s tasked with all chores and is a widow,” she says.
But the show wasn’t an overnight success. “Then, the 19th episode where Babuji participates in a dance contest along with his grandchildren shot up the ratings,” says J D Majethia, the producer who also plays Himanshu on the show. That minors on the show are more mature compared to adults is after all, a strategic creative call. “Many feel kuch bhi kar rahe hain… but that ‘kuch bhi’ is very deliberate,” explains Kapadia, who is aware that the show was criticised for “showing Gujaratis in poor light”. “It’s self-deprecating humour and not a representation of a community,” he concludes.
Renuka Shahane, Umesh Shukla to bring on more laughs to Khichdi
7:48 AM
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 22, 2018)
Popular TV comedy, Khichdi, is set for a comeback after over a decade
with several new faces. Mirror has learnt that Renuka Shahane is
scheduled for a guest turn in some of its episodes in the role of a don,
while OMG! Oh My God director Umesh Shukla (right) will play another cameo on
the show. The primary cast members of the Parekh family — Anang Desai,
Rajeev Mehta, Supriya Pathak, Vandana Pathak and Jamnadas Majethia —
have been retained in their original roles from the previous seasons.Speaking about Renuka’s role, writer-director and co-producer Aatish Kapadia reveals, “She plays a lady don with a speech impediment but refuses to acknowledge it. Much to everyone else’s annoyance, she tries to say difficult words and is incomprehensible in the process. Umesh plays an abstract painter.”
Meanwhile, Umesh has loved the gags featuring him so much, he has made it known that he’s willing to do more episodes. “The idea was to put the Parekh family in different situations and how they make people around them go mad. Jayshree (Vandana Pathak) mistakes Umesh’s painting of his grandfather for that of a horse and the family drives his character crazy with their comments,” Aatish reveals, adding that producer Ramesh Taurani was also approached for a cameo but he passed it saying he cannot act.
The new season goes on air over the weekend with one-hour episodes. “It comes around the same time as the IPL and we are taking the challenge head-on,” informs co-producer and cast member J D Majethia. Besides Renuka and Umesh, the new Khichdi will also have Debina Bonnerjee, Sarita Joshi and Deepshikha Nagpal, among others, in cameos.
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