Fifteen years after they worked together in Barry John’s theatre group, Deepika Deshpande Amin and Shah Rukh Khan are reuniting in the upcoming Fan. This will be the first time the duo will be seen together on screen. Says Deepika, “We did theatre together for seven-eight years and travelled all over India staging plays in various cities like Kolkata, Jaipur, Guwahati etc. So, I have known him for a long time.” Ask her if Shah Rukh has changed in any way and she smiles, “The most wonderful thing about him is he has not changed at all. After so many years and such great success, he is still enthusiastic and fun-loving. It’s like being back in the theatre group, all the years in between melted away.”
Ask her how she landed up playing mother to SRK and she says, “Initially, I was surprised, as I am not old enough to play his mom. In fact, we are contemporaries — he may be a couple of years older to me! But the makers assured me that I was playing mom to the Shah Rukh who plays the fan Gaurav and that with special effects and prosthetic he will look younger. And, it’s incredible how young he looks — like he is in his 20s! Also, I play a strong-willed woman, who is an important factor in the fan’s life. She is not a mother who is just flitting around.”
The actress is all praise for the younger lot of directors who are looking at theatre artistes to play important characters. “Even the minor character is given a lot of attention. Production houses like Dharma and Yash Raj Films are looking for performers and not the standard typical filmi types,” she says happily.
Though Deepika has recently forayed into films with Raanjhanna (as Sonam Kapoor’s mother) and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya (as Alia Bhatt’s mom) she has been a regular on the theatre and television circuit. She did her first serial Farmaan opposite Kanwaljeet back in the ’90s when the only channel available was Doordarshan. After a few more serials like Junoon, 9 Malabar Hill etc, Deepika recently returned to TV with Siyasat and Tashan-E-Ishq. She says, “TV has really changed. The era of daily soaps has made things hectic. Earlier, serials ended when the story ended. For instance Farmaan was based on a book Jahaapanah and it ended with the hero and heroine living happily ever after. Now, the serials are endlessly dragged. In the rush to get an episode ready for telecast there is a drop in quality. If one week the serial doesn’t get ratings, the story is changed the next week. It is unbelievable and unrealistic.”
Currently seen in Tashn-e-Ishq, Deepika says she deliberately doesn’t take up roles that require too much of her time. She is part of severla plays like Wedding Album and Boiled Beans On Toast that are staged alternatively. As for films she has recently shot for Dil Jo Na Keha Saka with a bunch of newcomers. “I also have an international film in the pipeline. I have kept my fingers crossed,” she signs off.
