90s Reinvented I Bhagyashree's journey from redefining friendship rules to being not so friendly on screen

Bhagyashree

"Dosti mai no sorry so thank you, said Salman Khan's character Prem in the film 'Maine Pyar Kiya' to Bhagyashree's character Suman. The simple dialogue redefined friendship rules for the generations to come as this became a go-to dialogue among friends. While the 1989 film directed by Sooraj Barjatya put Bhagyashree under the spotlight making her one of the most in-demand actors, she soon quit the film industry to focus on her personal life.

In the same year as the release of her debut film, Bhagyashree tied the knot with Himalaya Dassani. While she featured in a handful of films in the 90s, none could match the charm of 'Maine Pyar Kiya'. Eventually, Bhagyashree stayed away from the scene only to make a power-packed comeback in 2021 with the film 'Thalaivii'. The biographical drama on the life of late Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa saw Bhagyashree essay the role of the former CM's mother.

The comeback:

Amid the pandemic, Bhagyashree made her comeback with the film 'Thalaivii' starring Kangana Ranaut in the lead. Talking to Bollywood Hungama in 2021 ater the release of her comeback film, a hopeful and optimistic Bhagyashree had said, "I would look to doing different roles, playing different characters with a backdrop and needn't be a hero or the heroine's mother. I mean there would be much more in today's time because the scripts are changing and it is no longer a patent story. There's so much more to the creative field right now."

And that is exactly what the actress has been doing. She has been actively surprising audiences with varied roles that slowly break the image of Suman from the minds of the audience.

After 'Thalaivii', Bhagyasharee essayed the role of Girija Rani in the film 'Radhe Shyam' which starred Prabhas and Pooja Hegde in the lead. While the film failed to impress at the box office, Bhagyashree's performance in the film was appreciated.

2023:

Last year, Bhagyashree was seen in three films and an interesting cameo in Salman Khan's 'Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan' along with her son actor Abhimanyu Dassani. She started the year with the role of Ayesha in NRI Wives and followed it up by playing Parvati in Chhatrapati. The film, an official remake of SS Rajamouli's Telugu film of the same name marked the Hindi film debut of Bellamkonda Sreenivas. However, it was with the film 'Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video' that Bhagyashree showed a completed different shade on screen. The makers made the perfect use of Bhagyashree's sweet onscreen image to add intrigue and suspense to the film.

Keeping up to date:

Even though Bhagyashree was away from the movies for a long time, she was always up to date about the industry and the changing world around her. She has always been in touch with the craft by watching movies and learning from the youngsters especially her kids, Abhimanyu and Avantika Dassani. "I have been in touch with the craft. And having my son also get into films, we have been aware. It makes it possible for the younger generation to teach us all the newness that comes on the set. So it's a lot of learning process in practicality. I have always felt that in the old times we would say that you should learn from your elders, but I say that in today's time we should learn from the youngsters as we get to learn more. Because it is tomorrow's world and things are changing so fast that if you are not up with the times you will become a dinosaur. We have international shows being watched on Netflix, Amazon, and everyone got a smartphone. So the entire audience keeps seeing it. So it's not just a niche audience but your complete audience has been exposed to a lot of international cinema, drama, everything. So it is important for us as actors to keep up with the time. We have to be ahead of the curve. We have to think about what more creativity we can add when we are performing," she told Bollywood Hungama.