Renuka Shahane talks to Sangeeta YAdav about how she has survived in an industry with simple looks and no-care attitude to acting and life
She won many hearts by playing an ideal daughter, sister, wife and daughter-in-law on the big screen. Renuka Shahane, whose claim to fame was Surabhi on Doordarshan, as also the box office hit film Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, is back with a powerful performance in her comeback film 3 Storey where she has played an aged woman – Aunty Flory.
From playing ever-smiling, cheerful, soft-spoken lady draped in a saree, to portraying a wrinkled old Parsi woman with a haggard face, salt and pepper hair and a pot belly, Shahane has come a long way.
Shahane went through a complete transformation to get into the skin of the character.
“It was liberating to play a character like this because you look different. Every small gesture like the way she signs the papers, talks and her looks, are very carefully created. When I first gave the auditions, I was not convinced by my performance as I thought we could have done much more with the looks. So I wore glasses, a short wig and put some talcum powder on it to give it a salt and pepper look. I envisioned Aunty Flory’s character to be in that avatar and when I showed the picture to director Arjun, he made it look very close to what I had created,” the 52-year-old shares.
After ages, Shahane has got a chance to work with the same crew which worked on her during her TV days. But even they couldn’t recognise her in her Aunty Flory avatar. “It used to take three hours for me to look like her. When I first went to the sets wearing prosthetic make-up, junior artists with whom I had been working for so long, could not recognise me till my make-up artist told them who I was,” Shahane says.
However, “as a mother, I could totally relate to Aunt Flory and understand what she must have been going through, that is why it was easy for me to portray those emotions. If you don’t believe in your character, people are not going to believe in your performance. The character is etched so beautifully and even a small dialogue has a lot of underlying emotions,” Shahane tells you.
Since Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, a lot has changed in the portrayal of women in celluloid. “Hum Aapke Hai Kaun showed women. Just because they choose to be housewives, didn’t mean they were less strong. Their voice was always heard in the film. Even Pooja in Hum Aapke Hain Kaun was very definite that the people who worked in her house should not be ill-treated. In the 80s and 90s cinema, unfortunately, the heroines have always been sidelined. There were a few actors who had roles written for them. Women were also portrayed as a goddess. A woman will only be good if she has goddess quality. Now the fallibility factor has come in and accepted by the audience. The women making mistakes make the character more interesting and realistic. You are less judgemental about women and the character. Moreover, earlier, you were considered a heroine material until you get married or have a baby. But now there is a sea change,” Shahane says.
“Heroine material is somebody who can titillate the men in the audience. Both the actress and the character have to be like that. But now we have some amazing actresses like Kangana Ranaut and Kareena Kapoor who have been playing strong women-oriented roles which were not written earlier,” Shahane says.
But the demand to look good never bogged her down. “It is a difficult world to survive in. People expect you to be a certain way in public gaze. When I did the Jhalak Dikhhlaa Jaa dance reality show, people talked about my body weight more than about my performance. People love body shaming others but these are people who are insecure about themselves. I take criticism with a pinch of salt, not too seriously.
“I’ve always drawn that line and have been casual about myself and my looks. I am not known for being dressed perfectly. I go around in my simple salwar kameez. But if you take the pressure to look glamourous and get into size zero, it is terrifying. You have to keep reminding yourself why you became an actor. You get overwhelmed by feeling very happy and pleasantly surprised that people love you for what you love to do. You have to be clear what you want to do and what you don’t want to. Fame and money are beyond your control,” Shahane says.