Tillotama Shome: Last Two Years Is Like A Gift For Being Patient For 20 Years

Tillotama Shome made her acting debut with Mira Nair’s 'Monsoon Wedding' in 2001 and went on to become a renowned Indian face on the global map thanks to her International acclaim with the 2013 film 'Qissa' followed by the 2019 film 'Raahgir - The Wayfarers'. For the actor, who bagged the best actress title many times in International film festivals, saw nothing much changing for her back at home because of limited theatrical access and distribution in India.

However, with the OTT release of her film ‘Sir’ and now ‘Delhi Crime Season2’, she can finally see the patience of 20 years showing results. “I am in a very sweet spot in every way possible. I think the years that went by were tough for everybody with the pandemic but it was also the time to reflect on what one wants and how one wants it.”

“I really felt that in these 20 years I wouldn’t change anything because I think the early years of preparing the film for a long time and acting in it and then the film goes into post-production and then the battle to release was hard and then for it to go to the audience was equally hard. So, in all this the one thing that I had to learn whether I liked it or not was patience and the last two years have just been like a gift for being patient for 20 years,” she says.

The actor says that in these two years, one has got so many opportunities to express oneself, do different kinds of roles, work with different kinds of directors, and be part of stories from different parts of India.

The actress, who was also seen in popular series and movies such as ‘Mentalhood’ and ‘Angrezi Medium’, says that she doesn’t want to change a thing about the past. “I think that patience is key and I am quite glad for the wait that I had because it has made my roots stronger so that I can not get toppled by things when they don’t go my way.”

“I would rather grow slowly but grow strongly and the sense of satisfaction for me comes from being able to deliver my director's vision so for each project, it's like ground zero," says the actor and adds that witnessing success doesn't make her go easy with the next project.

"You can't lay back and think that oh your last project has received well so I can just take it easy. It is starting from scratch each time so that nervousness, excitement, and fear are there and it feels like the first film.”

In 'Sir', which had its debut on Netflix in 2021, Tillotama plays the role of house help. It’s a love story between a maid and the man she works for. On the other hand, Her character named Karishma in ‘Delhi Crime Season 2’ is a simple wife and mother living in Ghaziabad who later turns into a murderer as she wanted to break the cycle of mundane and poverty around her. 

Tilotama says that, unlike Karishma, she got luckier and she is very grateful for that. “ I have done many films but the distribution model was such that the audience was very limited because those (films) wouldn’t get the kind of theoretical distribution and there was no platform like OTT. But after 'Sir' came on Netflix I think the number of people watched it and now with 'Delhi Crime' the number of people is watching is amazing. They are the ones who have created this massive flow of work that is happening right now. I really thank the OTT platforms that have accepted actors like us.”