Sharmila Tagore: Bigger movies like Kalki 2898 AD is attracting audience, but I like smaller movies like Laapataa Ladies

(From left) Sharmila Tagore and Mohan Agashe in Outhouse

Gulmohar (2023) reminded us how much we had missed seeing Sharmila Tagore on screen. Over a year later, the veteran actor has faced the camera again for Outhouse, teaming up with her Mississippi Masala (1991) co-star Dr Mohan Agashe. In Sunil Sukthankar's directorial venture, Tagore plays a successful illustrator, who develops an unlikely friendship with an elderly neighbour while babysitting her grandson over a weekend. It was the director's sensitive gaze towards the plight of senior citizens that drew her to Outhouse. "The film brings forth the different needs of old age, and how the intergenerational gaps can be filled by communicating, with some humour and understanding," starts Tagore.

The film, which hit the screens yesterday, marks Agashe's last collaboration with writer Sumitra Bhave, who passed away in 2021. Having worked together in notable Marathi films, including Kaasav (2017) and Dithee (2019), the senior actor wanted Bhave to explore how the lives of elderly people are impacted by the breakdown of traditional family dynamics and a change in the caregiving system. But Agashe had a caveat - it should not be a tear-jerker. Remembering Bhave, he says, "After I read the script, Sumitra asked me, ‘Do you think Sharmila would act in this?' I told Sumitra that I would ask her. Fortunately, Sharmila liked the script."

At a time of big-scale entertainers, the slice-of-life film comes as a fresh breath of air. Tagore believes it is a much-needed departure from the actioners that are currently dominating the box office. "A lot of violent films have done well. I don't mind violent films. If it has a theme or there is a reason for that violence, I'm open to seeing it. I can't stomach films that are violent for the sake of violence. At the moment, films are going through a rough time. The actors are charging so much money. From what I hear, bigger films like Kalki 2898 AD and Brahmāstra: Part One - Shiva [2022] attract the audience. But personally, I like smaller movies like Laapataa Ladies," she smiles.

Agashe echoes her sentiment, adding that "the world of movies is becoming a bit toxic". "There is a lot of violence and sex in today's films. When it hits a certain threshold of toxicity, it needs a good detox. I preferred this film because there is no sex, violence, killings or religious propaganda. It's about the pure friendship between a child and a puppy, and the lives of two elderly singles."