Tejaswini breaks 14-year-old jinx
19/12/2014
Fourteen years ago, while filming Anurag Kashyap's directorial debut Paanch, Tejaswini Kolhapure would return home physically drained but creatively satiated. And one day, she announced that she wouldn't mind retiring after this.
Tejaswini believes that God took her words to heart. Paanch was banned for three years following the CBFC's objection to the depiction of violence, drug abuse and use of abusive language. By the time it was cleared in 2001, Tutu Sharma, her brother-in-law and the film's producer, was grappling with problems of his own. It was leaked online in 2010 but never got a home video or theatrical release.
Padmini Kolhapure's talented younger sister, after turning down a stream of producers who encouraged by her "bold image" wanted her to wear a bikini or do an intimate scene, returned to modelling and theatre. There were stray films, like Happi and Mani Ratnam's Raavan, where her role was cut down to a fleeting scene, but Tejaswini remained out of the spotlight. Her 14 saal ka van vaas will end on December 26 with another Anurag Kashyap film. In Ugly she plays a woman whose second marriage is a disaster, with a stalker for a husband. She turns suicidal, seeking oblivion in alcohol and sleeping pills. Then her daughter, from her previous marriage, is kidnapped and the guilt puts her back on track.
Like Paanch, Ugly too was a draining experience, including an hour-long crying session for a sequence. "It was cut down to 30 seconds to fit into the film's non-linear narrative.Fortunately, that was the only cut," says a relieved Tejaswini.
She went into the project blind. "But I've known Anurag for years and trust him implicitly. I'm glad he thought about me for another film. I can't say if Ugly will change my destiny but I'm happy a film of mine is finally releasing," she says.
The film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013 and released in France three months ago. But in India it was delayed when Anurag moved court protesting against the Censor Board's anti-smoking disclaimer. "I asked myself why he had to launch the protest with this film. I had my fingers crossed and finally the jinx will break," she says fervently.
Today, her niece, Shraddha Kapoor, and nephew, Siddhant Kapoor, too are experimenting with different roles. "But not all makers find funds and buyers," she says. "Would Ugly have got a release if it had been made by someone other than Anurag?" Has Anurag approached her for another film? "No, he seems to have gone underground," she laughs. "And there are no other offers. I'm hoping something beautiful will come along after Ugly."
Share This Story |
|
Comment On This Story |
|
|
|
|