Sharmila Tagore: 'Sometimes we sign a film for money, just to pay the rent, or to help a colleague'

In a recent interview with India Today, veteran actress Sharmila Tagore spoke about how actors did films in their careers for money, to pay rent, or even help a colleague. She’s gearing up for Gulmohar that releases on March 3 on Disney Hotstar. She said, “Well, we as professionals, sometimes we sign a film for money, just to pay the rent. Sometimes we help a colleague or somebody who thinks if I’m in the project, the project will do well. So I’ve made films for many reasons.” When asked about the film and her character, the actress said, “I am seeing it for the third time and I was still crying profusely, although I am in it. Of course working with Manoj, Suraj… actually he makes me cry. I kind of vibe with this young lot. They make it so difficult for themselves. They can easily take their father’s money and get on, but they have to punish themselves. This is an assured debut film by Rahul and so well written.” Also, in an exclusive interview with Firstpost, the director of the upcoming film Gulmohar Rahul V. Chitella talked about working with Sharmila Tagore,   Manoj Bajpayee , Amol Palekar, and his experience of directing the film with such an interesting ensemble. On casting Amol Palekar, Sharmila Tagore and Manoj Bajpayee When we started writing, we thought of the characters first. Arpita and I have this habit of knowing our characters, what’s their backstories, how it starts and how it ends. When we wrote Kusum’s character, we wanted someone who has lived her life in revolting but someone who’s rooted in traditions. The only name that came to me was Sharmila ji, because she has done this in her own life, with so much power and grace for so many years. I began rewatching a lot her films to know how she acts, how she emotes. Once we finished the script, she was the first actor I met through a common friend. We met for 2 hours and spoke about the film, family, many other topics. I narrated her the script and she called me after 3-4 days and said, ‘I’m doing this film, let’s have fun.’ This was 2019, pre pandemic. The next person I went to was Manoj, he had seen my short film a few years ago. He joked he would like to work with me. Within three hours of narration, he asked me when we are starting. He was the second actor I cast. With Amol ji it was very very exciting because that part is very important. I wanted someone who’s in the same age group as Sharmila ji. I wrote to him that Sharmila ji is on, Manoj is on, and it took only a week for him to say yes, and he was on. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.