How it happened
Being the daughter of Dina Pathak, theatre and film personalities used to visit our house regularly. Being an actors' family, we generally didn't think about any other profession. My daughter told me that she wants to become an actor even before she learnt to speak properly. I started from theatre. One day Jennifer Kapoor saw my performance and advised me to meet her husband Shashi (Kapoor) who was casting for “Kalyug” (1981) with director Shyam Benegal. A modern take on “Mahabharat”, I was cast opposite Anant Nag.
How did it feel
Those were different times. We shot in a bungalow and as you know Shyam babu conducts workshop before the shoot. We lived like a family and that reflected on screen. There was no pressure of working with names like Shashi Kapoor, Rekha, Amrish Puri and A.K. Hangal because I was familiar with all of them, courtesy my mother. Those days life was not that tough for a young actor. Everybody shared their experience. Also young actors were not know-all types. There were no mobiles, the entire focus was on performance and characters were crafted in such a way that you could feel that you have seen such a person on the road, in your neighbourhood. Today we see a lot of competent acting but realism is missing. My co-actors appreciated my husky voice, something the media also praised after the release but few people know that I was rejected by the All India Radio. Those days most youngsters who wanted to be in performing arts used to start from radio. I also tried but I was rejected because of my voice quality. However, when “Kalyug” released, I got a letter from AIR changing their decision and invited me to host a show. But by then I had no time.
How life changed
Soon I became the new face to watch out for. But life really changed with “Bazaar”. Sagar Sarhadi beautifully crafted my character. Though I won the awards for “Kalyug” as well, the Filmfare that I got for “Bazaar” was more satisfying. I was never interested in the quantity of films or the glamorous side of cinema. I kept waiting for good roles and when I married Pankaj (Kapur), I decided to give some years to the family. By the time I decided to return I had put on weight but it didn't concern me for I always felt in cinema there is scope for characters of all shapes and sizes. At that time I got an offer to play Hansa in “Khichdi”. It gave me a chance to test my comic side. Now I am waiting for the film version of the TV series.
As told to Anuj Kumar
