Ratna Pathak Shah talks about getting quite delayed success in Hindi cinema, as compared to her contemporaries like Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi.
Ratna Pathak Shah is one of the finest actresses of her generation in Bollywood. A theater veteran and an alumni of the prestigious National School of Drama, she followed in the footsteps of her mother, Dina Pathak and ventured into acting by the 1980s. Ratna had started off her work by starring in daily soaps and shows, out of which her performance in Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai is hailed as iconic even today. Thereafter, she became a part of a number of pathbreaking films, that vouched her to the top of the ladder of success in Hindi cinema.
Ratna Pathak made her debut in the film, Mandi by Shyam Benegal in 1983. Thereafter, she bagged an iconic role in Ketan Mehta’s film, Mirch Masala which gave her immense fame and recognition. In an interview with Zoom TV Entertainment, the talented actress talked about the initial years of her career, including her debut film and hilariously remarked how people would simply miss out on seeing her performance in the film, considering her role being so negligible. In her words:
“If you blinked for two and a half minutes while watching it, you would miss me. I was just hanging around there, frankly. Naseer and I had just gotten married, and he had to go off for a shoot. Shyam asked me to come along with him, and I did. So, I was just a total hanger-on. I have been a bloody hanger-on for years.”
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Speaking further in the interview, the actress then revealed how as compared to her talented contemporaries like Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil, she got her success quite delayed. She further cited how as compared to the two of them, she never really had the unique face, that was considered to be the norm for women back in the days. Criticising herself to be dumb for the longest, Ratna said:
“I have to admit, I wasn’t very good. I didn’t even have a particularly unusual face like Smita (Patil) or Shabana (Azmi). They sort of changed the way you look at women on screen. Mine (face) was neither here nor there. So, I am not surprised that they (the filmmakers) didn’t imagine that I could do more than whatever I did. I was even more of an idiot than I was later. I don’t think I understood anything. I was a pretty dumb person back then so I was trying to soak in everything I could get. Nobody starts out right. You start at Point A, and if you remain there, you are an idiot. But if you progress from Point A to B, C, and D, that means you did some work.”
In her personal life, Ratna Pathak got married to talented actor, Naseeruddin Shah on April 1, 1982. The couple is blessed with two sons and a step-daughter, Heeba, from the latter’s first marriage with Manara Sikri. Previously, in an interaction with Twinkle Khanna for YouTube’s talk show, The Icons, the actress recalled the first time that she crossed paths with her husband, Naseeruddin Shah. She recounted seeing him during the rehearsal of a play and immediately getting attracted to his charming look in his beard and John Lennon-style glasses.
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Previously, in another of her interviews with the Humans Of Bombay, Ratna Pathak opened up about her take on her husband, Naseeruddin Shah’s previous marriage and relationships. At a time when most women used to take objection on such matters, Ratna clearly mentioned that she didn’t bother herself with all of it, since she found herself immensely in love with him. Elaborating more, she said:
“I was not concerned with his past life, I was in love. He had been separated from his ex-wife for a very long time. Meanwhile, he had many other relationships. That also seemed like history. Then I arrived, as long as I am the last, I am okay.”
What do you think about Ratna Pathak Shah’s revelations?
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