After a hiatus, Bollywod actor Pallavi Joshi will now be seen on the big screen, in a film directed by her husband Vivek Agnihotri. In her latest venture with an unusual title “Buddha In A Traffic Jam” she essays the part of the wife of veteran actor Anupam Kher. Buddha in a Traffic Jam.
Her filmmaker husband decided to cast her opposite the senior actor in this film, scheduled to be released next year, because he felt only she could do justice to the character. The couple jointly worked on this project and came together at Noida’s Marwah Studios, Film City, Noida, to inaugurate the 7 Global Film Festival Noida-2014. Her film was screened on the inaugural day of the three-day film festival.
Pallavi started working in Hindi films as a child artist. In “Dada” she played a visually impaired girl child. She has done challenging roles in various films including “Andhaa Yudh” in which she played a differently-abled girl. Veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal cast her as one of the three women protagonists in his film “Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda”, which won the National Film Award for the best feature film. Benegal made her play the role of Kasturba Gandhi in his Indo-South African venture “The Making of the Mahatma”. Pallavi’s national recognition came when she won a special jury award at 41st National Film Awards for the film “Woh Chokri”.
In an interview with Friday Review, the actor, discusses the film, her role and co-actors etc.
Excerpts from the interview:
What made you do this film?
I was part of the process right from the scripting level. Moreover, Sheetal (the character player by her) has been portrayed in a different way. As the story evolved her role changed quite a bit. Therefore, Vivek asked me why don’t I play this character? I am doing a film with Vivek after 17 to 18 years.
Is Sheetal a feisty or headstrong character?
Sheetal cannot be attached to regular labels. She is a victim of society like other characters. Without realising she is subjected to intellectual terrorism. She is forcefully moulded into the thought process. She is directly a victim of society.
You have been pitted opposite Anupam Kher, who is a much senior actor. How was the experience working with him?
Sheetal is married to Bakhi (Anupam Kher)? She loves her husband’s grasp over various issues. I have worked with Anupam earlier also. He is a great guy, a jovial person. Even on the sets he cracks jokes. As a result the atmosphere becomes light.
Earlier, Anupam was just one of the many actors but now he is seen as a senior actor who brings with him a certain level of knowledge. This can be seen in the way he behaves with the people around him and the relationship with co-actors.
These days we see competition between filmmakers to make a movie which make a business of Rs.100 crore. Is commercially viability uppermost in a filmmaker’s mind because of huge budgets?
This competition between filmmakers does not apply to us because we have managed to produce “Buddha in a Traffic Jam” at one-tenth the cost of commercial films. We are cinema people and story has to be narrated in an interesting way. We are in the business of entertainment but we cannot make movies without relevant content.
Some filmmakers believe that it is formula which works at the box office?
Whichever film works at the box office becomes a formula. As “Sholay” worked it was seen by those in the business of filmmaking that it had a formula.
There were scores of filmmakers who fruitlessly remade this film and other hit movies like “Deewaar” which was about relationship between two brothers and their mother but without any success.
