90s Reinvented I Rejecting mainstream, how Raveena Tandon placed herself differently in the industry

Raveena Tandon

Raveena Tandon was among the popular faces of Hindi cinema in the glorious 90s. The g]vivacious actress made her acting debut at the young age of 19 with the hit film 'Patthar Ke Phool'. The film was directed by Anant Balani and starred Salman Khan opposite Raveena. She then appeared in a couple of films which saw moderate success. In 1993, she also starred in her Telugu cinema debut Bangaru Bullodu, which was recorded as a hit at the box office.

In 1994, Raveena was seen in as many as 10 feature films. 'Mohra;', 'Dilwale', 'Aatish', 'Imtihaan', 'Andaz Apna' and 'Laadla' were among the films that were released in the year and gave her the title of 'Mast Mast' girl following her sizzling performance to 'Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast'.

Despite giving multiple hits and proving her stardom with her fan following, the actress was still not considered a serious actor. "In the 90s era, there were very few films which gave equal opportunities to female actors. It was a struggle to break the perception that she can only do super hits and she can't perform in a look besides being a glamorous person. That was the image. It was a challenge for me to sign a film like Shool because Ram Gopal Varma told me that when I close my eyes, I can only see you doing Kisi Disco Mein Jaaye and Ankhiyon Se Goli Maare. His film Shool where I played the role of a Bihari house wife gave me the scope to break that mold," she said in an interview with Lehren Retro.

In an interview with ANI, Raveena had once revealed that she was given thinly written characters in the initial phase of her career. She joked that all she had to do was change her costumes, because the lines, the scenes, and the co-stars would often be the same in every project that she took on when she started out. She had said that she wanted to place herself in a certain way in her second coming. Her need to transitioning into more serious roles was also among the reasons for not taking on the role of Tina in Karan Johar's film 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'.

In 2000s, Raveena started looking towards art house productions to to learn a realistic way of acting, and rejected several mainstream film offers. Tandon worked in films such as Bulandi (2000) and Aks (2001) during that period and won praises for her performance. Her decision turned fruitful as she won her first National Award for Best Actress in 2001 for the film 'Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence'.

Raveena believes an actor must evolve with time and age. At the same time, however, Raveena said it would be wrong to say that there are no roles for her. 'Today, I do not expect to get the roles that I was getting or doing in the '90s. Everyone should age gracefully and do the kind of roles that you can do with dignity and respect,' the actress had said a couple of years ago while shooting for Aryanak.

The series 'Aryanak' marked her debut in the OTT space. The show saw Raveena play a police officer. With the show, the actress proved her versatility and that she too is a dependable actress. Her portrayal of her character Kasturi Dogra, resonated with the audience through her portrayal of maternal instincts and the relatable depiction of a multitasking wife in an Indian household.