Standing Up for Other Women

Tillotama Shome has emerged as the star of franchises, coming into Delhi Crime Season 2, the forthcoming second season of Paatal Lok and now Kota Factory Season 3. Shome says, “Making a show is always a battle, so coming into a show which works as a well-oiled machine and joining a team that has such camaraderie is always a joy. Especially with TVF [The Viral Fever, the makers of Kota Factory] which knows the struggle of engineering aspirants so well.” She says she has observed the respect that the TVF team has in Kota where they shot Season 3. Shome adds that she knows the respect that students have for them, and also the way they have encouraged teachers to become like the mentors of the fictional Kota Factory. “Young people are the future of this country and yet there is such little investment in their well-being,” she says. Not only was being on the set a huge validation for Shome but it also made her do her best. The last few years have been extraordinary for Shome, who has stunned the industry with her work in the movie Sir (2018), Delhi Crime Season 2 (2022), The Night Manager (2023) and Lust Stories 2 (2023). She credits her pivot to the change in her approach. “I was so caught up in my self-doubt and my self-questioning that I forgot to build a safety net for myself. I had forgotten that you cannot be an artist without failure. But when one is younger, one doesn’t realise it. I didn’t realise how friends, family, my Buddhist practice, my sense of community now gives me tremendous power to enrich my life,” she says. As does her embroidery, her gardening, her love of beautiful things. She realises now that what enables one to walk long distance are people. “There are many women I haven’t held up, many I haven’t held close. I am trying now to be less worried about myself and my career. Now I call someone if their work inspires me or shout to someone who I find outstanding,” she says. And indeed she continues to attract great work, whether it is the thriller series For Your Eyes Only or a forthcoming Bengali film.

Patralekhaa’s Time Has Come

When she saw her father, a man who lived and breathed his work, lying on his bed, lifeless, Patralekhaa realised how wrong she had been in beating herself up for not having done more work. “I decided I would not be so harsh on myself,” says Patralekhaa, the actor who completes 10 years in the film industry this year. Coincidentally, the tragedy also marked the beginning of the busiest periods in her life, working on characters and stories that she felt aligned with. But even now when she remembers her father, who was always supportive of her work, she tears up. Patralekhaa says she has had years when she worked for a mere 10 days, and it was heartbreaking for her, especially after a striking debut in Hansal Mehta’s City Lights (2014), where she played a fresh immigrant to Mumbai. Surprisingly despite rave reviews, the film didn’t lend itself to work of the kind she was looking for, so she made the best of what was on offer. Things have changed now, as she awaits a series of stellar performances, from Raj & DK’s Gulkanda Tales (Prime Video), to Anubhav Sinha’s film, IC 814, Simarpreet Singh’s Wild Wild Punjab, Savitribai Phule’s role in Ananth Mahadevan’s Phule, to a thriller, Suryast, with Lara Dutta. With her delicate and fiery spirit, Patralekhaa brings an old-world charm to the industry, marking her out from cookie-cutter female actors. A childhood full of exposure to movies, music and dance, and a sense of style inherent in her (“Have you seen the people of my city Shillong?” she asks). Patralekhaa’s talent will soon be in full bloom as her work finds a platform.

Shabana@50

Even as the world celebrates the beautifully restored print of Manthan, another Shyam Benegal movie needs to be commemorated. Ankur (1974) was Shabana Azmi’s debut 50 years ago. The actor, now 73, was in conversation with filmmaker Mira Nair, at the New York Indian Film Festival. In Ankur, Azmi plays Lakshmi, the wife of a hearing and speech-impaired villager. Lakshmi ends up sleeping with the landlord’s son, played by Anant Nag. In a long and exceptional career, it is extraordinary that she continues to play lead roles, such as in the forthcoming Bun Tikki by Faraz Arif Ansari. And let’s not forget she just played the second romantic lead to Dharmendra in Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani kii Prem Kahaani.

BollywoodcinemaOTTPatralekhaaShabana AzmiTillotama Shome