EXCLUSIVE | 'Panchayat' actress Neena Gupta on cinema changing: 'Today, some people like Animal, some like Laapata Ladies because…'

Neena Gupta has been a part of the Hindi film industry for more than three decades and made a solid comeback with films like Mulk, Veere Di Wedding, Badhaai Ho back in 2018. Her journey has been anything but easy and she reflected upon the same in an exclusive interview with Firstpost. The actress is gearing up for season three of Panchayat that will soon stream on Amazon Prime Video and inevitably, that was a part of the interaction too.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

When this series and character came to you, what made you say yes.

I only say yes to anything when I like the script a lot, and the script of Panchayat was one of them. And it’s only getting better as we move forward to new seasons; the writers and the makers have not become complacent.

You have worked in television, films, OTT; do you see any difference in the style of making or work?

That’s actually their outlook. An actor is always supposed to give her best, and I want my concentration which is the most important aspect. It’s important for any actor to be in that character in that particular moment. No matter what the platform is, acting remains the same.

We have seen films in which actresses have played characters elder than their actual age and many actors are playing people half their age. What’s the importance of playing age-appropriate characters in cinema?

For me, it’s really crucial. What should I say? Actors of my age are playing heroes and I get to play grandmothers’ roles. This is something that happens here and we have come to terms with it, we have accepted it. We can’t fight it. And Panchayat has become so popular only because the actors are playing age-appropriate characters; everything feels real and relatable. My character particularly is terrific, she’s strong-minded but also listens to what her husband says which is a really interesting combination. Women are mostly like that, they have a dehati strength.

2018 was a game-changing year for you- Mulk, Veere Di Wedding, Badhaai Ho. Was it frustrating not to get the kind of roles that could do justice to your talent prior to this meteoric rise?

Everyone in the world feels he or she deserves better and I also felt the same. But that’s also your acid test, how you can handle yourself without being bitter, that you don’t get carried away or succumb to a bad habit. Some people take to alcohol, some begin to criticize; I’ve seen such people. I was able to save myself from all of this only because of my mother. She used to say education is extremely important. When I was doing M.Phil in Sanskrit, I was like ‘What’s the need to do so when I want to be an actress?’ It’s only now I understand what she meant. It gives you the kind of confidence not to compromise when you don’t get work. I can do a lot of things like teaching only because of my education.

On one hand, we see films like Jawan and Animal do the numbers, but we also see Laapataa Ladies and Article 370 do well. What’s your take on the way the landscape of content has evolved?

I’ll give you an example since there’s so much content- Have the bookshops shut down? No, right? Everything and everyone has its own place. Some people like Animal, some like Laapataa Ladies, people want different type of content because people are not the same, we don’t have the same taste.