The supremely talented Seema Pahwa who dazzled as the matriarch in Dum Lagake Haisha, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan and Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari, has changed tracks, and how! In Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubau Kathiawadi Seema plays a role she has never attempted before. Without revealing her character the seasoned actress who first attained national popularity in the Doordarshan series Humlog in 1984, exults over her unprecedented excursion. “I don’t know how Sanjay Bhansali thought of me for this role. Because I’ve never done anything similar, never shown an inclination towards the kind of personality I play in Gangubai Kathiawadi. Only a visionary like Sanjay Bhansali could have thought of me in that particular role.”
Seemaji raves over Bhansali. “Every actor who values acting—and I’m sure all actors do—should work at least once with Sanjay Bhansali. His visual sense is unparalleled. His aesthetics are incomparable with any director. He’s a perfectionist. He brings out the best in every actor and technician. When he offered me a role I was thrilled. But I had no idea how rewarding this experience was going to be. Now that I’ve worked with him once I can’t wait to work with him again. I hope he casts me in another film.”
The actress last seen in the digital series Das Kapital Ghulaamon Ki Rajdhani says she was tired of playing the roles she was getting. “The same mother’s roles. The same small-town environment. Sometimes even the town used to be repetitive. It had all become a bit monotonous and tiresome for me. Gangubai Kathiawadi came along at the right time.”
Image source: Instagram/seemabhargavapahwa, SpotboyE archives