Rajshri Deshpande: Who wants to look the same in every film?

Rajshri Deshpandee

One of the biggest dichotomies of being an actor is the desire to be a known face and a chameleon at the same time. A struggle often faced by Rajshri Deshpande, whose career is peppered with starkly distinct characters in films like 'Angry Indian Goddesses' (2015), 'Sexy Durga' (2017), and 'Manto' (2018). Deshpande is elated that people watch her work but fail to recognise her. "[After watching the trailer of Trial By Fire], people have been wondering about me. I am glad that nobody knows me or how I look," she says.

Abhay Deol and Rajshri Deshpande in Trial By Fire

The actor says that she is inclined to characters that require her to shred every bit of herself and transform into a new person. "Who wants to look the same in every [film]? You want to experiment. In fact, I want [the director] to break me into pieces, construct me, and then get me together again. I like playing such characters," says the actor, adding that her role in the Netflix' series, 'Trial by Fire', falls in line with her pursuit for complex roles.

In the series inspired by the 1997 Uphaar Cinema tragedy, Deshpande plays Neelam Krishnamoorthy, who lost her children in the fire, and subsequently has been fighting a civil case against the cinema owners. The actor not only relied on the script and media interviews that Krishnamoorthy had given over the last 25 years, but also worked hard to find [the traits of the character] within herself. "It's not an easy character to play. You can't just switch on with the camera. You have to have [the character] inside you to perform. The emotional truth has to be there. [That's why] actors are never really on a holiday. We are always working, observing, learning, and unlearning. Since Neelam is not a fictional character, it was important to play the characters authentically."

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