Interview: Raveena Tandon
By: Arora Rai
Gone are the days when marriage was a deathblow to an actress’s career, and Raveena Tandon is living proof that a new day has dawned in Bollywood.
Perhaps Manisha Koirala needs to take some notes.
As Bollywood grows as a legitimate film industry and comes into its own as an influential world power, Raveena believes the cinematic sphere is opening up – and married actresses are, in her opinion, the greatest recipient.
The way Raveena sees it, Bollywood is now offering substantive roles to married women in a more frequent manner.
“I think the industry has changed a lot, as compared to the past 15 to 20 years. Today, married women are offered challenging roles,” Raveena, 35, told the press. “We see Shabanaji, Sharmilaji, Hemaji, Aishwarya, and others playing varied roles and are part of some fantastic movies.”
A National Award-winning actress, Raveena herself seems to be finding her way back into Bollywood, albeit four years after she married film distributor Anil Thadani in 2004. Last seen in the 2006 production of Sandwich alongside Govinda, the Hindi film star appears to be getting her second wind as a movie star. According to the latest reports, Raveena has landed the lead role in Agni – The Fire in addition to starring in Aap Ke Liye Hum and the upcoming Bengali release of Laboratory.
“The movie is about female empowerment,” Raveena told the press about Agni – The Fire. “We do talk about India’s development and how far it has reached, but today also, women in rural areas face problems.”
Such empowerment is apparently unraveling in Bollywood, as Raveena observes a shift for the better in married actresses landing key roles in upcoming film productions.
“As actresses get married, they have very little to offer as they have other responsibilities. But thanks to (an) industry (that) is more open today,” Raveena keenly opined, tempering her observations with the notion that she “feels little sad that these kinds of offers do not come her way.”
Still, even though Raveena took a voluntary leave from acting shortly after buckling down with her husband, the actress is happy to be back on the up and up, going through promising scripts in the process.
“I have been going through lots of scripts, but I am inclined to roles like I played in Shool, Daman and Satta — something more evolved and something that suits my personality now,” the actress proclaimed.
Hopefully Raveena, who claimed a National Award for Best Actress in 2002 for her leading role in Daman, will select the right scripts to solidify her comeback.
