EXCLUSIVE interview of Navnindra Behl on Netflix's Khufiya & cinema changing | Not Just Bollywood

Navnindra Behl is a veteran actor, writer, and director who has dabbled with theatre, television, and cinema. She has an experience of over three decades and was recently seen in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Khufiya that streamed on Netflix.

In an interview with Firstpost’s Lachmi Deb Roy, Navnindra Behl mentions about how cinema started deteriorating in the 80s, but thankfully things are getting better now with the quality of content changing.

Edited excerpts from the interview

How was your experience of working in Khufiya?

It was very good. Vishal Bhardwaj said he wrote the role for me, and he took care of me and pampered me so much. I wasn’t expecting this kind of a response from the audience, it feels very fulfilling and overwhelming.

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What were your expectations when you read the script and your role?

I knew if I was called, it would be something special. I knew Vishal since I had done Maachis with him and had seen all his work and all his films. I knew this film was going to be special since Tabu was also playing a part. When I read the script, I like it very much.

What do you have to say about the evolution of cinema and roles changing?

Times change, things change, perceptions change, subjects change, approach towards characters changes. I started my career in theatre when I was two years old, I have seen history of performing arts, from radio and theatre to television to films to OTT. And with these changes, requirements also change. We evolve with time, and now that there are so many platforms, you are given ample opportunities and scopes to do multiple kinds of projects. It was a very small role in Khufiya, it was still important. Everyone had an important role to play with a layered characterisation. These things happened during Satyajit Ray, Govind Nihalani, Ritvik Ghatak’s cinema.

Did the quality of cinema begin to deteriorate from the 90s and early 2000s?

It started with the 80s. That was the period when nobody was able to tell what kind of films were they, which genre they belonged to. There was an era of romantic films that was followed by the wave of action films. Only good-looking actors were getting roles in films but thankfully, that phase lasted only for two decades. In the 21st century, things started changing.

What’s your take on the roles of mothers changing in cinema, with no more black or white but shades of grey, particularly your character in _Khufiya_?

It was very interesting. It was a layered character with vulnerability, greed, danger, ambition, deception, love, all mixed together. She was like playing and reacting to the situations naturally, I won’t call her a negative character. Having conviction in doing what she does was also something I found very interesting. She’s a mix of traditional and vulnerable. She’s a human with negative shades.

What are your expectations from cinema now after playing this character in _Khufiya_?

I haven’t done much cinema, I have been associated with theatre and television. When I did television, there was only one channel the whole nation watched. We got many letters, at least in lacs for some of the shows we were producing, me and my husband. We were already working on such kind of cinema but for television. I would definitely like to play a challenging role in cinema.