With a 23-year-long illustrious career behind her in Bengali cinema and television, actor Swastika Mukherjee says it is a tragedy that actors are considered successful only when they do something in Hindi movies or shows.
Mukherjee, who started her career in 2000 with Bengali soap “Ek Akasher Nicher” has worked in critically acclaimed films including Anjan Dutta’s Byomkesh series, National Award-winning “Jaatishwar”, “Mishawr Rawhoshyo” (2013), and “Maach Mishti & More” (2013).
However, it was her role of Dolly Mehra in “Paatal Lok” that got her noticed in Mumbai circles.
“After ‘Paatal Lok’, so many people were asking me where were you all these years, I told them I was here only. Only when you have done something in Bombay and in the Hindi language then it is said that you have arrived,” Mukherjee told PTI in an interview here.
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Mukherjee, who most recently played Tripti Dimri's mother in psychological drama "Qala", said she does not remember the last time she worked in a "hero-based" project.
"This is one tragedy that people only wake up when it is happening in Bombay.
"I feel the changes are happening now at the national level, people are waking up to it because we are seeing a lot of films led by women, even when they are not women-centric. But in the regional cinema, we have been doing this for years. I don’t know when was the last time I worked in a film that was hero-based,” she said.
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Giving the example of her role of a complex mother in Anvita Dutt's "Qala", the actor said stories written and directed by women naturally capture the nuances around female characters in a better way.
"I see ‘Qala’ as a love story between a mother and daughter. So, as a woman, the nuances of a mother and a girl child and failed parenting, they can come from our own experiences or the stories we have heard from our friends.
"Since we are living the life of a woman, obviously we will understand her emotions and her equations with her daughter a little more than a man. I think it's obvious or easier for a woman to talk about failed mothers more than a man,” the “Dil Bechara” actor said.
Not just "Qala", the 42-year-old actor played the role of another strong mother, Avantika Ahuja in the third season of "Criminal Justice". Her character supports her falsely-accused son despite the odds against him.
When asked if doing roles of mothers would typecast her in an industry known for pigeonholing its artists, the actor said it did not matter as long as she was able to portray different shades of those characters.
“I have been working for the last 23 years, I have played the role of mothers for 23 years. There are thousands of mothers, and each can be different from the other. I have been getting different kinds of roles too, but even if three out of five roles are of mothers, I don’t see any issue.
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“As an actor, I am very happy if I can portray characters that are different. They can be aunties, they can be mothers or grandmothers, it’s absolutely not important. How much variety I can bring in my work and what more different ways people can see me, is more important to me,” Mukherjee said.
