65 years in an industry is not just a huge achievement for any actor, but is equally rare. The weight of this achievement gets even bigger when a filmography features movies like Satyajit Ray’s Apur Sansar, Devi and Nayak, Tapan Sinha’s Nirjan Saikate, Shakti Samanta’s Kashmir Ki Kali and An Evening in Paris, Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Anupama and Satyakam, Yash Chopra’s Daag, Gulzar’s Mausaam, Mira Nair’s Mississippi Masala, Rituparno Ghosh’s Shubho Mahurat, Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Eklavya, and Amol Palekar’s Samaantar. That was Sharmila Tagore, and her career continues to be stellar and peppered with the right gaps just long enough to keep us piqued about her return every single time to the big screen.
At the fourth edition of SCREEN Live, veteran actor Sharmila Tagore discussed her stellar career, and her upcoming film, Outhouse, which is a heartwarming tale of human relationships, and the wonderful connect people have with animals. Incidentally, this movie marks her return to the big screen after 14 years. But so much has changed in the way people are making movies now, and this was a salient talking point at the event on Monday.
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While she addressed the growing understanding and acceptance of different kinds of content, especially since the advent of OTT, Sharmila also pointed out that big-ticket films are becoming top heavy. “I am concerned about how actors are not just charging huge amounts, but many even travel with cooks, masseuse, and an entire entourage,” said Sharmila, giving an example of an incident that made her concern more grave. “I was doing an ad film, and the person who did my makeup revealed that today, there are actors who have a competition about the size of their vanity vans,” said a shocked Sharmila pointing out how this has become a criteria for flaunting importance.
“Vanity vans were all about privacy, and a comfortable place to dress up. Now, you have meeting rooms, resting rooms, etc… All of this is pushing actors away from what actually matters… the acting,” said a candid Sharmila, who believes this chasm between reel and reality is sad. “Of course, making money is important, but if you are moving away from reality, how would you know what works and doesn’t with the audience.”
Sharmila Tagore, who has won many awards throughout her impressive 65-year-old career, pointed out how the lack of camaraderie between today’s stars is another matter of concern. “When I won an award for Aradhana, Nargis ji and Waheeda Rahman ji were there in the audience. Kishore Kumar sang on the stage. It was a celebration of the film fraternity, and not just a celebration of Sharmila Tagore. But now, in many award shows, some turn up very late, and a new row is added to the first row to accommodate the A-listers, and more importantly, no one talks to anyone,” said a rather pensive Sharmila, signing off from the topic with a resigned sigh. “Everybody waits for a photo-op and leaves, and many don’t even turn up if they are not getting an award. Things have changed a lot, but I don’t think for the better.”
Outhouse, directed by Sunil Sukthankar, and starring Mohan Agashe alongside Sharmila, marks her return to the big screen 14 years after the Imran Khan–Deepika Padukone movie Break ke Baad. The film also stars Sonali Kulkarni and Neeraj Kabi.
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