Sandeepa Dhar recently starred in alongside Mrunal Thakur and Siddhant Chaturvedi. She essayed the role of Naina, Mrunal’s elder sister who is constantly seeking validation.
In an exclusive chat with mid-day, Sandeepa opens up about how she resonated with the character. She also talks about dealing with unrealistic beauty pressures.
Sandeepa Dhar on her idea of love
Describing Siddhant Chaturvedi’s character, Shashank, as a green flag, Sandeepa sheds light on how relationships have become complicated. “Relationships have never become complicated. We`ve complicated it more than what it needs to be. I think we`ve become very stubborn with things. As women, we`ve reached a point where we don`t want to settle for less. We do not want to compromise for certain things, which I think is right.”
In the film, Naina is perceived by others as a “perfect” woman, but she struggles with internal loss of identity and self-worth. Talking about how she resonates with the character, shares, “There are aspects of Naina that I relate to because we`re all struggling. Especially as women, we have multiple personalities. We`re so different with everybody in our lives to live up to their expectations. And we all at some point are seeking validation.”
She adds, “We just want to be accepted for who we are, but that doesn`t happen. There`s always something that we think we can do in order to make ourselves look better, feel better, be better. And I feel if you really look at the root cause of all of this, it goes back to our childhood. I feel this constant comparison is really dangerous. You don`t realize it as kids, but it all kind of comes up when we`re older, and then we`ve got traumas that we`re healing from.”
Sandeepa on making debut with Rajshri film
Sandeepa Dhar made her Bollywood acting debut in the 2010 Rajshri Productions romantic drama Isi Life Mein. Recalling her early days, she shares, “My parents would have probably been very against my being an actor if it was not Rajshri Films. Because the general perception of the film industry from a non-filmy background is very different. They always think that I don`t know how it will be, how the people will be, what kind of stuff she will have to go through.”
However, the film failed to strike gold at the . Reflecting on work coming her way after that film, she said, “I don`t think I`m very upset about the opportunities given to me because I think you have to go through a little bit of frustration, irritation, all of that in order to really understand life. And for an actor, understanding life is the most important thing.”
Sandeepa Dhar on beauty standards
In the film, Naina is expected to maintain her looks and be a certain way. Reflecting that all women are pressured in today’s time, Sandeepa says nobody accepts you for who you are. “The business of films is based on the way you look. So, for people to comment on that, I can still understand it. But I think in our real life this is happening. Somebody or the other is always telling you, either you are too fat, or you are too thin, either you are dark or too fair. Being fair is an issue and being dark is also an issue.”
Revealing if she has ever been rejected for the way she looked or for coming from a non-filmy background, Sandeepa concludes, “I don`t think I have lived my life on the basis of why someone is getting the opportunity. When I look at actors like Sanjay Mishra , Konkona Sen Sharma, Jaideep Ahlawat, it`s taken so many years for them to actually be recognized for their craft, and they were talented from the beginning. Everything has its own time. There are a lot of people who come from star families and they still don`t make it.”