Smita Tambe reveals why she chose to be a part of a film like ‘Ajji’

‘Ajji’ will give you shivers and will leave your mind numb. That’s the kind of film this is. It is a drama about a revenge, a tale wherein a grandmother seeks justice for her 10-year-old granddaughter who is brutally raped. It’s a spine chilling tale of a family, that carves its own path to get justice. We spoke to Smita Tambe, the lady who plays the girl’s mother in the film, and she shared her experience as to how suffocating yet challenging it was to be in a character like that.

Excerpts from the interview…

Can you tell us something about your role in ‘Ajji’?
As you know it is a film titled ‘Ajji’ (Grandmother) in which the granddaughter gets harrassed. I am playing the role of that girl’s mother in this film. My character is that of a woman who just has to survive in any situation. I do not have any option rather than surviving. It is a very realistic film and there’s a lot of genuineness in the film. The reality seems very abstract. Because of all these reasons, my character stands out than the normal character.

What was your reaction when you read the script?
Before reading the script, Abhishek gave me a scene to read and I literally got goosebumps. Only because of that scene, I decided that I want to do this film. And then when I read the script, I could not get it out of my mind. During the entire shooting of the film, it was one traumatising experience. My character always feels that there is no appreciation for whatever she is doing in life. There is so much responsibility on my shoulders, how do I carry it.

How was the aura on the sets while shooting for the film?
Actually, the amount of time we spent shooting for this film, those many days we did the workshop. All the people were come on page. But when I got onto the sets, when I got into that room, I was like ‘I don’t want to be in this room even for 10 minutes’. I just wanted the character to come to an end and I just wanted to leave, because it was so suffocating. All of this adds on. It is a very different subject and everybody had such an impact.

How is Bollywood different from Marathi cinema?
In Marathi, I have done more than 20 films now, but when you step into Bollywood, you have to let go of their old baggage. I am the luckiest one to bag an international film like ‘America’ that had stars like Suraj Sharma, Adil Hussain and others. Then my second film ‘Singham Returns’ was purely commercial. Then there was ‘Noor’ and ‘Rukh’ wherein critics appreciated so much. So I feel that the platform is available for the kind of work I want to do.

The kind of cinema I am doing, there is curtain sensibilty. So yes, the canvas has expanded.

Talking about ‘Rukh’, how was it working with Manoj Bajpayee?
Amazing experience. He is a fantastic co-actor. Atanu Mukherjee is a very sensible director. ‘Rukh’ is a great film and a lot of critics have appreciated each and everyone’s performance. The script of ‘Rukh’ touched my heart. It is always fun working on such characters.

Do you feel supporting characters should receive the due credit now, considering that you were a part of ‘Noor’, but weren’t promoted much?
Well, how does marketing work is not something that I understand. But I feel that we should keep doing our work. When the right time comes, you will get your credit.

What are your expectations from ‘Ajji’?
I feel that ‘Ajji’ would be received differently. After watching it, you will leave with an experience. You tend to forget yourself and that’s what is the motivation behind entertainment. It is an emotional ride. Another thing that I felt like while working on this project is that as an actor I will receive a different level of appreciation for playing this character. When I receive that appreciate, that’s when I will be motivated to explore more as an actor. Further, a life of a film is of 100 years. So in coming years ‘Ajji’ will seem to be very different. I am expecting that kind of age for this film.

Anything lined up in Bollywood? 
Yes there are two films in the making. As I am under a contract, I will not be able to say anything on it.

Nikita Thakkar

A strongly opinionated, free-spirited, budding Bollywood journalist, she likes to write anything in her own quirky style. When not running around to get assigned tasks completed, you will find her either painting, indulging in photography or dreaming in the la la land.