Film industry no longer laughing stock, says Ratna Pathak Shah

Ratna Pathak Shah

Veteran actor Ratna Pathak Shah believes the Hindi film industry is no longer churning out "garbage" in the name of movies and says it is steadily marching on the path to bring global glory with its work.

The actor, a stage and screen stalwart, said the Indian film industry's growth is running parallel to the apparent downfall of the cinema from the West. "[Earlier] we were genuinely laughable, today we are not. Today, we take ourselves seriously and hopefully the world will too. We are still struggling with many things, but we are on the path. We will come up with shows and films that will speak up, stand up for themselves not in the niche, but in the mainstream [space]. We also happened to be positioned well, because look at the garbage the West is putting out in terms of films," the actor said in an interview.

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The actor now wants to be a part of the evolving narrative and find parts that challenge her as an artiste. There is an urgency in her to dive deep into characters that go beyond the surface in exploring various shades of women. "What I would like to play now is the more extreme fringes of human experience. I've never played a drunk, a mentally challenged person or a seriously unpleasant person. I would love to explore what I can be like when I'm really mean. And I don't mean cute-mean like Maya Sarabhai," Shah said.

The actor adds that when writers come up with flawed characters for women, they make them like "mean men". "I got a part somewhere where I'm supposed to be the villain. But she was doing everything that Amrish Puri had ever done. I'd like to be mean, but not in such a stereotypical way. Women can be mean in a very special way, we don't need help from men," she added. Shah will be next seen in Jayeshbhai Jordaar, featuring Ranveer Singh.

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