Soni Razdan comes into her own

Soni Razdan's career seems to have found a new innings with a lot more and exciting work coming her way. On the eve of the release of her latest Yogesh Pawar spoke to her about her career, her roots, being almost-cast and Alia

After Raazi you play a Kashmiri again in No Fathers In Kashmir?

This was shot before Raazi which I hadn't even signed then. When I read the NFIK script I knew I had to do it. Ashvin has so much clarity on Kashmir and its issues. Instead of a docudrama appreciated by a niche audience he's made a mainstream feature everyone can connect to. He's powerfully juxtaposed the human with all the ironies of life.

Did it help you're yourself half-Kashmiri?

My father's a Kashmiri Pandit. But I wonder if that makes me half-Kashmiri. I've never lived there, don't speak the language. It would've been great if I did. I would've been able to bring more of the language into the role. I had to prep like any another actor.

Contrast Ashvin Kumar with Meghna Gulzar...

I see a lot of similarity in terms of clarity and what they want from an actor. Meghna has a lot of experience with the medium and Ashvin is comparatively new. But he really goes after what he wants and pursues it till he's satisfied it is working.

Are we going to see more of you on screen?

I really hope so (laughs). If I haven't been seen in many films that's not for lack of trying. People just don't come to me with work. But it is changing both in the number of roles and the kind of characters I'm offered. I hope that continues.

What was the stumbling block?

I think its all about people and their assumptions. They assume I'm Alia Bhatt's mother I won't act or I'm Mahesh Bhatt's wife so I won't. I don't understand why. I remember asking Gauri Shinde (filmmaker) in jest, ' Why didn't you cast me in Dear Zindagi as Alia's mom?' and she laughed and said: 'I didn't even know you're interested.' I really can't fathom why people have this image of me. I can't think for others. (Laughs) It's too complicated.

Despite small parts, you stand out even among a large cast?

I think it is to do with my strong, unusual characters who leave a mark. Apart from Saraansh  or Khamosh , the characters I've played are all strong, edgy and out-of-the-box. While its true I've been able to imbue these with life-like reality, after one dramatic role too many I hunger to be cast in more ordinary roles.

Who are your mentors?

Pt Satyadev Dubey for sure. He was really invested in me as an actress and made sure I learnt Hindi. I was this angrez So-Bo types and my Hindi was horrendous. Amrish Puri would sit me down for six months with the script for Band Darwaze (a play I did with Dubey, Amrish Puri and Sunila Pradhan) in his house in Santacruz and going over every word and line so that I got the accent and diction right. These are the two people who helped me stand out in the Hindi space.

And your work in English?

On that front, I was sorted. I'd trained in the UK. And I had plans to work there. But it was a different time. Unlike now there was just no role for Asian actors.

Can you recall memories from the sets of Mandi?

Mandi  was a really different experience. We were like a drama or film company/troupe. The entire ensemble cast travelled to Hyderabad together and stayed in the same hotel. We rode a big bus to the location 1.5 hours away to shoot daily at an entire village set up by Shyam Benegal. Though there were Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Amrish Puri and Om Puri around, everybody got equal treatment. We'd all work, chill, eat together. Neena Gupta, Ila Arun, Anita Kanwar, Satish Kaushik and found recognition and fame since we were not so well-known before. In fact, I formed a great bond with some of them, particularly Neena who I shared a room with for two months and became quite close to. Mandi was fun, unique and quite ahead of its time in what it was doing as a film.

Pt Satyadev Dubey was also part of Mandi...

He'd done the screenplay and used to be after my life to get the lines right. It was not even regular Hindi but Dakhni a local dialect and to make it worse he'd be hovering over me. I'd often laughingly complain asking him to go away so that I got my lines right.

You've also done quite a bit of theatre...

Yes. Arms and the Man with Naseeruddin Shah for Motley, three plays in Hindi including Band Darwaze with DubeyJi, Acts of Faith and Games People Play with Rael Padamsee and Where did I leave My Purdah with Lillete Dubey. But theatre leaves you too exhausted for anything else. At the end of the year, I'm doing a play in London. Though excited, I can't talk about it till the official announcement.

Italian filmmaker Franco Zeffirelli wanted to cast you as Mary in Jesus of Nazareth.

With great difficulty, I'd got admitted to a London drama school despite no scholarship. I'd sent out my pictures to a lot of people before and forgotten about it when the admission came through. Zeffirelli found a picture and came looking for me at the drama school on my third day there to casr me in as Mary in Jesus of Nazareth . My name was announced asking me to come to the office 'to meet someone interested in casting me.' I ran all the way shocked and in disbelief.

But it was true...

Yes. I was working as an auxiliary nurse after my course hours to support myself since money was so short. I'd read in The Daily Mail or The Sun a week ago that Olivia Hussey was being considered for the part of the mother of Jesus, Mary. I distinctly remember thinking how lucky she is. So when he asked me about being Maria I kept wondering. He asked if I'd go to Italy for a screen test and I asked him to pay for my travel. I remember him laughing at my directness. He asked me to come back in five hours. When I did I was told he wasn't being able to wriggle out of a contract with Hussey and hence had to cast her.

That must have broken your heart...

(Sighs) I nearly died. He then asked me if I'd like to be a part of the miniseries as a rep. They're glorified extras but we had a couple of lines and something important to do.

And your college?

They had strict rules about attendance and not working professionally till you pass out but they allowed me to do so. They were aware of my difficult finances and knew making £70 a week would help. Long before Mandi, I was made to feel like an equal with well-known actors. We stayed in the same hotels both in Morocco and Tunisia where we shot, had meals together and even readied together in the large make-up room. I particularly remember meeting famous actors Robert Powell (Jesus) Ian McShane (Judas Iscariot) and Anthony Quinn (Caiaphas) who were very warm and friendly.

Franco Zeffirelli's ran for the extreme right, Forza Italia and won an Italian Senate seat and publicly speaks against migrants..

Oh my God! Really? Zeffirelli? That's such a shame! Who would've thought? I only knew him as a wonderful creative director.

When you look back is there still bitterness?

I won't lie... I regret losing out a chance to play Mary. It would've changed my life.

Despite formidable acting chops do you feel bitter that you didn't get commensurate work?

When younger I felt a lot more frustrated about it. I'd wonder if something was wrong with me. But I also got very busy with my life. I had kids, I did a lot of TV and even produced my own film. I've written scripts and directed. I just keep trying to reinvent myself and do the best with what I have.

Shyam Benegal to Bhatt Saab, you've worked with the best. Whose style did you like most?

I really like directors who know what they want but there've been directors like Sanjoy Nag who left it completely open and let me lead in Yours Truly. I also enjoyed doing the short film Baby Steps with Joyeeta Chatterjee . So that's another challenge. Mahesh lets you pick cues on what he wants from the way he talks about the character. I hate it when directors tell you how to act. Tell me what to do, not how to do it.

Have the films you directed had any of these influences?

When acting under someone's direction I think only of my character without getting too much into others unless it has something to do with my character. As for my own film direction, it is a sum total of all I've absorbed as an actor from the great directors I've worked with.

You've done TV in 1986 (Buniyaad) and also two years ago. How has the television industry changed?

Initially, Buniyaad  was shot like a film. Even when I did Love Ka Hai Intezaar in 2017, I was given the script for the 30 episodes before-hand. There was no preparing lines while being written. And we shot back-to-back episodes at the ND Studios, Karjat.

But hasn't it become too regressive?

It's not my place to judge others' work but I guess they're catering to a certain kind of audience who wants patriarchy underlined. I'd do it differently and focus on the progressive instead but the production houses don't seem as keen on social change as making as much money while they can.

Will web series change that?

They're already making a change for both discerning actors and audiences. I've done one called The Verdict and am waiting for its release.

You were born in Birmingham...

Yes, I was born there. My mother Gertrude Hoelzer's a British German and my father Narendra Nath Razdan's a Kashmiri Pandit. I went back and forth during school while growing up. I did my A levels there and also went back to pursue drama school. Now I have an agent there and look to work there as well. I recently did a show for Channel 4 and it should be out soon.

What does it feel like when Alia gets called best actor among the current lot?

I completely agree. It feels great to now also be recognised as 'Alia's mom.' She's extremely talented and hardworking and I'm glad the film industry is creating roles for her to showcase that talent. I couldn't be happier as her mother.

Does Alia come to you for advice on her career?

Initially yes. But now she has an excellent team in place. They are much more with it and are doing a terrific job of advising her.

And on her relationship(s)? Do you advise her?

She has always been a girl who knows her mind and is intensely private. I'm around if she needs me but it's not going to be the end of the world if she doesn't. If anything it fills me with happiness that I've been able to raise her independent-minded.

Which among her films have you liked the most?

While I liked all, my favourites are Highway, Udta Punjab , Dear Zindagi and Raazi.