Supriya Pathak: Today's television doesn't interest me

File image of Supriya Pathak. Image sourced from mid-day archives

Noted for her roles of Hansa Parekh in Khichdi and Neelu Nanavati in Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka, veteran actor Supriya Pathak believes working in television shows today doesn't interest her as they are "regressive" and "too long".

"The shows being made nowadays are very similar, very regressive. We are talking about the type of '60s, '70s kind of films, and similar stories are being shown on TV today. Only rehashed and glossy. It does not interest me," she told PTI in an interview.

"I also find it problematic that the shows are so long that they keep going on and on. They are unnecessarily stretched. All the work that I have done is the type I would want to watch. If I can't watch it myself how can I expect people to watch it," the actor added.

Having worked in Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka, which went on for 1,000 episodes, Pathak believes the show had its own way of storytelling, which invested time on its characters and unlike today wasn't "pulling anything" in the name of a story.

"It was good storytelling, and it was also a new format that we were making so many episodes. But Aatish ji (Kapadia) kept to a story line, we were just not pulling things.

"There were so many characters, and he spent time in telling every character's story and bringing every character to its end was well-thought. I think the episode's length was justified by its storyline," she said.

Talking about the new medium of web series, the 58-year-old actor said while it was an interesting format, the productions were becoming repetitive.

"Everyone is making the same kind of shows, about underworld and things like that. So I am hoping somebody breaks this trend, else we will again enter the same grind," she said.

Known for her films including "Bazaar", "Mirch Masala" and "Kalyug" during the parallel cinema movement, Pathak believes it is the content that will always interest the audience and not the big names associated with a film.

"What is more important today for the audience is to have different kinds of content. They like variety, they like different kinds of stories, different kinds of entertainment. There are so many platforms now, I think there is going to be more necessity for different kinds of stories.

"In our time it was majorly only one-thing cinema and then there was what you may call the parallel cinema. It was the only other way of telling stories. Now it's not like that. Today there are all kinds of platforms, so many different ways of telling stories," she said.

The veteran theatre, TV, and Bollywood actor will be performing at the third edition of Delhi Theatre Festival, organised by Alchemist Live. Pathak, along with actor and husband Pankaj Kapur, will act in the opening play "Dreamz Sehar" at Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi on August 30.

Talking about Kapur, as a partner and co-actor, Pathak credited him, as "one of the best actors the world has ever seen", behind all that she has learned about acting. "It's really a privilege to work with him. As a director too, he is very inspiring, he really pushes you to do what is best for you, and for the character.

"The kind of work he puts into his acting and direction, he pushes you to do the same, which is a great thing for a person like me for whom discipline is not a thing that comes easily. It's been a great journey of learning from him as a co-actor and as a director," Pathak added.

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