Aditi Rao Hydari: Sparkling Star

She has homes in Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai, and necessarily so, given the work coming her way since she starred in the Tamil movie, Kaatru Veliyidai in 2017. “I always wanted to be a Mani Ratnam heroine,” says Aditi Rao Hydari, who is finally getting the due that the Hindi film industry was unable to give her. “Suddenly, a whole new world opened up for me, people started choosing me. Quite often, we’re treated as replaceable objects, just as a body and a face that fits for now,” she says. The Hindi film industry was always unsure of what to do with her, though she has worked with the finest directors, from Sanjay Leela Bhansali to Imtiaz Ali. But Mani’s epic romance made her a pan-Indian heroine of note. Moving easily and elegantly between languages and industries in the past few years, she has done Sufiyum Sujatayum (2020) in Malayalam, Maha Samudram (2021) in Telugu and ‘Geeli Pucchi’, Neeraj Ghaywan’s outstanding short in Ajeeb Daastaans (2021), in Hindi. With her latest Tamil film Hey! Sinamika, with her “homie” Dulquer Salmaan (he calls her “Her Royal Highness” and she calls him “DQ”), she is now so busy that Bollywood has to really make it worth her while to stay in Mumbai. The Lady Shri Ram College graduate just wrapped a series for Vikramaditya Motwane, has another two series in the offing and a film with Vijay Sethupathi. After years of being pinched on the cheek and patted on the head, and told she was good, but cast erratically, Aditi now has roles written for her. Did she ever lose faith in herself in the 11 years she has been in the industry? “Never,” she says, “even when somebody has behaved like a jackass, I know it’s because of the sickness in their head. There are days when I’ve wept about how can people be so ruthless, so manipulative, but I don’t give them space in my heart or head.” The last few years, she says, have given her a suraksha kawach (protective shield) so she encounters fewer weirdos, as she calls them. That is why critical and commercial acclaim is so important for actors. “Earlier, people would tell me they’d love to work with me, but nothing would come of it. But now if they say they’ll send something for me to read, it usually happens. Maybe, not so much in Hindi, but 100 per cent in Tamil and Telugu,” she says. Being an alumna of the Mani Ratnam school of films also helps and connects her to such extraordinary talents as Dulquer and Vikram Prabhu (also, the legendary Sivaji Ganesan’s grandson). She loves the discerning audience in Tamil cinema. “I give a lot of love, but I like a lot of love as well. That’s part of being an actor. What you mean to fans in every industry is different,” she says.

83 Again

Kabir Khan’s 83 is an extraordinary film that didn’t get enough love in theatres, thanks to yet another Covid-19 wave. It’s a well-told story, with brilliant performances, and captures the spirit of pre-liberalisation India. India was not yet a world power in cricket, and the team led by Kapil Dev found it tough to convince the snooty establishment in England that it meant business. It is difficult to imagine for a post-IPL generation that Team India didn’t even get a liveable allowance, or that World Cup matches were not shown live until Indira Gandhi decided it would be a good distraction from politics, or that cricket was not considered a financially viable profession. The movie will get its world television premiere via Star Gold on March 20.

Scene That

Naveen Andrews returns to our screens in a major role after the ABC series Lost (2004-10) with The Dropout, playing Sunny Balwani, who was the partner of Elizabeth Holmes. Holmes, a Stanford University dropout, was credited with inventing a new way of testing blood without a syringe and creating a high-value startup, Theranos. Balwani, 19 years her senior, was her cofounder and COO, and now faces a criminal trial even as Holmes faces a possible 20 years in prison. Theirs was an odd relationship, kept secret from everyone. Amanda Seyfried is quite stunning as the driven Holmes and Andrews just slips into his shadowy role with ease. The Hulu series, seen in India on Disney+Hotstar, reflects the diversity of the startup world with a starring role for Utkarsh Ambudkar as well. The more America changes, the more it will be reflected onscreen.

Aditi Rao HydariBollywoodcinemaKabir KhanNaveen Andrews