The very graceful Jyotika, who has done a slew of well-received Tamil and Hindi films, is very kicked about her premier foray into the OTT format with Netflix’s Dabba Cartel, especially for the opportunity it gave her to share screen space with the mighty Shabana Azmi. “Everything about Dabba Cartel was extremely special. Firstly, the banner, Excel Entertainment, they are known for creating some of the best web series. The content is always top priority. Varuna is a character I think I haven’t played before. It’s very very close to me and I think a common woman will resonate with it. So, I just fell in love with Varuna’s character as I heard it.”
She added, “Then there was one more major incentive. The stalwart actress Shabana Azmi ma’am. I don’t think anyone would think twice before wanting to stand and share a frame with her. Not only is she such a brilliant actor but she is also such a magnanimous personality with you feel so empowered just standing next to her. Her entire thought process and the way she works and even today at her age, she makes every effort in providing her 100% to the character. I saw a language therapist with her at shoot and I was just seeing the small nuances, how much, how dedicated she is even now. Even if you have a teleprompter, she doesn’t refer to it. She still prefers mugging her lines and saying it with absolute emotion. So, it was a treat to be sharing screen space with her.”
Jyotika also has words of praise for another co-actor in Dabba Cartel. “I have always loved Nimisha Sajayan’s work and The Great Indian Kitchen is one of my favourite works of hers. So, sharing screen space with her, with my South buddy actor in a Hindi web series was again extremely special. I made great friends with Anjali Anand and Shalini Pandey at shoot and I think all of us had a blast. I think even Anjali and Shalini are such talented actors and nothing like coming with the best actors on board. I think just standing with all of them makes us a better actor. So I had a great experience. As I said, growth is always about working on good subjects, good characters and with good actors. So, there was no reason not to be doing Dabba Cartel.”
Married to superstar Suriya, what is it like to have two superstars under the same roof? “I guess we leave the superstardom outside the door when we enter home,” she said. “And we are just parents of our kids. And yeah, the dabbas… definitely the prominence is given to our children, more than our shooting dabbas which we take with us. It’s more about what’s going in their school dabbas in the morning. One’s dabba leaves early morning at 6 o’clock with him to school. The other one’s dabba goes at lunch time at 12. So, the discussions are more about what they are eating and how we are packing their food and sending it. So absolutely we are parents at home, superstardom stays outside.”
She added, “And the list goes on. There is another film where I played a lawyer. It’s called Ponmagal Vandhal. It was against child rape. There are a lot of iconic films of mine, which have portrayed me in very different shades. I do like myself in my two recent Hindi films, even though they were not protagonists. I do like my role of a mom in Shaitaan. I found her to be a very powerful mother. I do love my role in Srikanth where she is the wind beneath Srikanth’s wings. And of course Dabba Cartel is also special. I feel Hindi is also offering me some great work. So, extremely happy with the growth.”
The multi-lingual actress compares the experience of working on OTT with feature films. “It is definitely longer hours of work in the OTT format,” she said. “But I’d say it’s very interesting. We shoot about 5-8 scenes in a day. And it’s quite similar to the South style of working. When I do women-centric films, which are under certain budget lines, we also work in the same format there. So, it seemed quite similar to working there. And the pace is great and it’s always nice to finish a film or a series quickly. Because then you’re still in the essence of the character and it’s just easier on the artist. So, I feel the OTT format and the films in South, I think they were working on a similar platform.”
Jyotika added, “It’s after 27 long years, I think that suddenly there is a wave of a fusion of Hindi and South films. And so work is just being divided amongst all the actors equally. I think it’s a great time for all actors coming in together. My journey is nothing else but growth. Whenever I have thought I need growth as an actor, I have switched languages. I have always chosen my films according to characters which have been different from me and, especially in the last decade, which has been extremely different for me as a personality and which resonate with the people. So, I feel growth is a factor which is persistent to my thought process.”
“I was extremely happy in the South,” said the actress. “I have done some of my best roles there and I could only be glad that I was part of South films. Because I’m not sure if I had probably got those roles if I had worked in Hindi. In fact, I was married and stopped working at 28 and then got back to films when I was 35. And I did see a lot of prominent roles coming up my way in Tamil where I played the protagonist. And a lot of meaningful and soulful roles, which I have done from the age of 35 to 45. And here I am in Hindi now where I am again receiving a very warm welcome from the Hindi audience. And getting some fabulous roles here also to play. So, no complaints. I am very happy with the way the career has shaped. My forthcoming film is with director Ashwiny Iyer (Tiwari). This is for Baweja Studios. And this is with Sonakshi Sinha and myself.”
Also Read: Shabana Azmi wanted to ‘remove’ Jyotika from Dabba Cartel; says, “I kept saying ‘don’t take her’
The post Jyotika on working with Shabana Azmi in Dabba Cartel, “Don’t think anyone would think twice before wanting to share frame with her” appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.
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