Sunita Rajwar, who became famous for her role of Kranti Devi in the web series ‘Panchayat’ and Bittu’s mother in ‘Gullak’, is looking for different roles. Her film ‘Santosh’ has been sent to Oscar in the foreign language category. Smita Srivastava talks to Sunita Rajwar about her career and upcoming projects.
How are you looking at this phase of your career?
Look, nothing is different. This is the journey of an artist so there are ups and downs in it. This is the time of rise. By chance, many things hit together and you become more visible. ‘Gullak’ and ‘Panchayat’ gained more popularity. A scene in the film ‘Stree’ created discussion, but people knew about it even before that. Now the problem is that as your work becomes a hit, you start getting similar roles.
Right now the situation is such that I have to refuse many projects. A lot of people want me to play a role like Bittu’s mom or Kranti Devi.
How did you get associated with ‘Santosh’?
Its manufacturer is from Britain. Its casting has been done by Mukesh Chhabra. The film’s director Sandhya Suri had told me that she had seen one of my scenes in ‘Panchayat’. I was the last artiste called for this audition. After seeing the audition they felt that I fit in. In foreign countries, only directors take auditions directly. My role was different so it was fun to work.
No one in our industry has shown so much faith in me. I have auditioned many times for good films. Later when the director meets, he tells that the producers want a big name. I am thankful to Sandhya Suri for choosing me for ‘Santosh’. This is a serious role. Hopefully, whenever it is released in India, people will believe that as an actor I am capable of playing any role. This happens with everyone.
Even if mainstream artists do art films, they are often not accepted. Even if art film artists become heroes, they do not get acceptance. After being in the industry for 24 years, I understand that this is a business so there is not much pain.
What are the preparations for ‘Panchayat 4’?
Our readings have been done. Shooting will start from this month. This time the audience is also waiting to see what will happen with my character. All I can say is that this time there is a lot of interesting. This time my screen time will be more than the last season (Panchayat 3).
Is it easy to shoot ‘Panchayat’ in a village?
The village where we shoot will have 15-20 houses. Those people are not concerned with heroes and heroines. The hotel where we stay doesn’t even know what a web series is. I come from Haldwani. There were fields all around my house. In my childhood, our house was at the foothills of the forest, so I am familiar with village life. For me, living in the village is like home.
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