Marathi actor Priya Bapat: ‘There’s always pressure to prove yourself’

A still from the series

Despite delivering a hit with Nagesh Kukunoor's City of Dreams (2019), Marathi actor Priya Bapat had to wait before the Hindi film industry recognised her potential. This year, however, she enjoys a string of releases - from Riteish Deshmukh-starrer Visfot and friendship drama Raat Jawaan Hai to the anthology on mental health, Zindaginama, on SonyLIV. Happy about the change in tide, Bapat says, "This is the first time since I started working in Hindi that I've had three massive releases." The actor shares she has often rejected several projects while waiting for the right scripts.

"Even in Marathi cinema, I choose my work consciously. I've had to wait a lot for the right kind of projects and avoid getting typecast. After City of Dreams, I was offered many lesbian roles. But when makers believe in you, things happen. That's why I'm grateful to all the creators who've shown belief in me," she says, adding that she was delighted when director Aditya Sarpotdar saw a Bihari woman in her for Zindaginama. "Someone was ready to believe that I could play a Bihari despite being a Maharashtrian. I'm an urban woman, so imagining me as a villager who's rooted and unable to express her pain was thrilling. I took it as a challenge. I had to [convey suffering from PTSD] with more expressions and fewer dialogues," says Bapat.

Confident that the series will spark a conversation about mental health, Bapat opens up about her journey with mental well-being. She sought professional help after caregiving for her ailing mother for three years began taking a toll. "It began with accepting that mental illness exists. There's always pressure to prove yourself in this profession. Even after working in Marathi cinema for two decades, I have to prove myself with every film. You feel exhausted and tired. Sometimes, you even doubt yourself. During those days, I always turned to my husband [Umesh Kamat] for support. But when my mother fell ill, I reached out for outside help because that's the first time I realised how absolutely exhausted I was as a caregiver. I took a couple of counselling sessions that really helped me," she shares.