She is nothing like what we have seen her on screen so far. She is talkative, bubbly and speaks her mind with conviction. During her recent visit to The Pioneer, Tisca Chopra shared why she had been consistently campaigning for women's issues, her reason for not doing mindless mainstream films and details of her forthcoming film Rahasya
How was it to visit your alma mater, Hindu College, after years and interact with students thereIJ
I was there to be a part of the panel discussion on the Colors’ show,Code Red, and promote my forthcoming film Rahasya. The film is about an 18-year-old girl who gets killed, she is my daughter in the film. Code Red is the show that talks about issues faced by teenagers like anxiety, depression and other complexes. So the film was a good fit to the panel discussion. I have been fairly vocal about women and child abuse issues. I feel more connected to women issues as I grew up in Delhi and anyone who has grown up here would have anger stored up in their system because women are always expected to ‘adjust’ and not give it back. Now that I am in a position when I can address people, I want to talk about it. May be I will be able to influence one out of hundreds to raise their voice. Interactions like this provide a great exposure to students. I firmly credit a lot of what has happened in my life to Hindu College. It provides you an environment where you are allowed to be yourself and form your own opinion. Our teachers helped us understand the issue and have our own opinion. A professor taught us one side of the story and then she called other professors to present their opinion, so the idea was to present every side of the story to the students. They expanded our minds in a way that we always didn’t want to take a very set path.
What do you think is wrong with the society in their attitude towards womenIJ
As compared to cities, there are probably far worse things happening in smaller towns but the fact is that the change has to come through the thinking pots — the big cities — because a cluster of media, policymakers and changemakers are largely congregated there. The change would come from these places and spread across to hinterland, not as fast or as much as we would like but it has to be this way. The fact that people are talking about change is already a good step. If you are not aware of something how can it become a part of your thought processIJ I recently saw a poster that questioned if the intelligentsia has failed us. I think to a large extent we have all failed. We have succeeded in some ways. I was reading an article about when India became an independent country in 1947, the West said that nothing can happen to us. The same things were repeated when Nehru died and also during the Emergency. The fact that we are sitting here today and giving ideas to the world says a lot about our development. A lot needs to change but a lot has already changed. We are a self-sufficient country. We are moving towards education, so there is hope. We are also talking on gender crime, which is a relief to me because it used to annoy me no end when I would see silly things being the center of discussions in the media. I think the Indian intelligentsia needs to pull up their socks and think of more valid issues. On another note, during my teenage years we haven’t had a leader who was truly inspiring, who made you feel proud. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an inspiration for the youth today and I want to support him. His advent has made us proud. I am a yoga enthusiast like him. I love the fact that he has the charisma to woo the world leaders from the places where we are still seen as a country of snake charmers. The world expects us to be daft. When I travel, the first question I am asked is ‘are you Spanish or Italian,’ when I tell them that I am an Indian, they give me all sorts of looks like aisa bhi koi hota hoga. I want to tell them that in our country there are much more smarter people. I am happy that we have Mr Modi now. I haven’t had a chance to interact with him but I am hoping that I will get a chance to meet him.
There are reports that Rahasya is based on the Aarushi murder case. So how sensitive is the territory you all have negotiated in the filmIJ
As actors we don’t really get to know what’s going around. However, it is a work of fiction, the director is deeply influenced by international crime thrillers, like Alfred Hitchcock and Agatha Christie. The stuff that you will see in the film is about ‘who did it’ and it is also about very clever, detailed forensics. It is not just about ‘so this is handkerchief stained with blood.’ It is an intelligent thriller. The writer-director Manish Gupta has woven the story so beautifully that there are no loose ends. Rahasya has a strong story and performances and it beautifully portrays the mother-daughter relationship. Manish initially offered me another role of a hottie, which I denied as it was similar to Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji. I didn’t want to repeat the same role.
Do they consciously approach you with roles of a motherIJ
I am patented in a Nirupa Roy category. I am quite exhausted of crying copiously. I don’t know what karma I am yearning that people are seeing me on screen and weeping buckets (laughs).
How gender sensitive is the film industry getting these daysIJ
There are two perspectives to this. First is that the industry is definitely skewed towards the male character. All the stories are about the Singham and the Boss — the alpha males. India is divided into many kind of Indias — there is a big-ticket India which is a single screen, then there is a multiplex looking for more intelligent stuff and then there is an audience for family-centric comedies. So there are all kind of films being made but still most are male-centric. Within the film industry, men still make more money. Women in the industry are street smart, you cannot survive otherwise. And there are only a few women from the industry who come out and openly speak about the gender biases. Somebody like Kangana, I think, does a great job when she chooses roles that make her the center piece of the films and not any male character. She does speak about the gender issues. Though I agree that we have films with strong women characters but we are still far from what it needs to be. If 200 years from now our great grandchildren stumble upon the films from the late 90s to 2000 — they will think why all these women would wear short clothes and hang around water bodies without any intention of swimming. What our films are mostly presenting is not an adequate representation of what real women are. I have tried my best within what was offered to me, to have a nuanced discussion with my directors about my roles and why they decide to do a particular thing, including Madhur Bhandarkar. When he cast me for Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji, I kept telling him that I want to see her heart, I want to know why is she cheating on her husband. In this film, too, I had many discussions with Manish. I am normally in a very close relationship with my directors because if I can’t be friends and talk to them, then there is no point being a part of the project. You have to make your own way, not for purposes of role extension, but to add value to the project. Even in Rahasya, my character is surprising and interesting. It will not be a cookie-cutter.
Why did you drift away from the mainstream, commercial formatIJ
I am doing several such films now. I stopped getting work because my first film, Platform, didn’t do well and I was atrocious because I didn’t know how to act then. I did theatre after that. Before doing my first film, I was doing amateur theatre. I was this kid from literate family in Delhi who always wanted to be in films. I was active in college plays. Where the panel discussion was held was the place where we wrote, produced, made sets and did a lot of production work which was such a hit that people broke chairs. Now I feel shameful of that because it was so bad but that time it was a hit.
What made you choose acting as your careerIJ
A lot of things. I remember my father saying ‘you want to actIJ That’s so silly’. When I was on stage for the first time, I was two-and-a-half year old. I was playing baby lord Krishna. They sent me on the stage where I stood and refused to move. I think the reason why later I was at ease on stage was because I am an introvert person and stage gave me an opportunity to express myself. While in college, I went to Mumbai and started shooting commercials. I was offered films later. I did four-five in a row and they were all flops. I often questioned myself whether I had chosen a wrong place. Then I did theatre and I feel fortunate that I was trained by veterans like Feroz Abbas Khan and Naseeruddin Shah.
How did Taare Zameen Par (TZP) happenIJ
I was watching lagaan (2011) and was completely mesmerised with the film. I kept looking at Aamir and felt that’s exactly how I’ll react to a particular situation in the film. I was learning theatre at that time and wished if I could do something like that. If you desire something strongly, your wishes do get fulfilled. I believe, while I was watching lagaan, TZP was happening in some realm. Few years later, they called me for auditions and I didn’t go. I thought it was easy to say that I didn’t go for an Aamir Khan film rather than telling people that I failed. They called me again and this time I auditioned for the role. Everything that I had learnt about acting, I did in those four scenes they gave me. It was a magical date where everything fell into place. The girl, who auditioned before me, was great in her work. I felt that if they don’t cast me, then I would think they wanted somebody else. But in the evening, I was called to meet Aamir.
How is Aamir Khan as directorIJ
If he trusts you, then you can do whatever you want. But if he feels that you haven’t got what he wanted, then he’ll be meticulous and exacting. The famous crying scene from the Maa song, where the mother is weeping, was not just about her sadness of leaving her child, but it was also about her frustration and anger. Aamir knew that I have understood the scene and he just let me be.
How difficult it is to work in TV and get good rolesIJ
I am not aggressive enough to market myself. I have been lucky to work with people like Tigmanshu Dhulia and Irrfan Khan in TV. For quite a long time, I worked with them in the Star Bestsellers. I have never focussed on quantity of work. I have believed that the amplitude of work you do should be so good that people talk about it even after years. I have never worked hard on promoting myself to get roles in TV or films, but just on acting. TV is physically demanding and an exhausting medium. My last show 24 did well. Within a few episodes, people were curious to know what will be coming next. I remember buying silver jewellery from my regular store in Colaba and the jeweller was such a big fan that he didn’t hand over the packet to me for a long time, hoping I would reveal the plot to him. I am soon coming up with my own TV show that will feature normal women surrounded with great stories. I am also working on a script with my husband, who is a pilot and a writer, too.