In the past decade, we've seen Rajshri Deshpande take strong female characters in projects like Angry Indian Goddesses, Sexy Durga, Manto, The Fame Game and Trial by Fire. The actress has won several awards for her portrayal of a grieving mother Neelam Krishnamoorthy in the Netflix series Trial by Fire. In her newest project, Gudgudi (Tickle), Rajshri plays a mother who must protect her daughter during the deadliest of times, the Gujarat riots of 2002.
Rajshri Deshpande on Gudgudi and its unusual title
Recalling her participation in the short film Gudgudi, Rajshri told Zoom in an interview that she discussed the title with director Abhiroop. While the title indicates something funny and warm, the context here is very different and much darker. She explained, “We think that when we do Gudgudi, we tickle [that’s] what comes into your mind. You laugh that something is happening. But the same thing is actually so dangerous. It spread like a poison everywhere. The time has come in this film, he has shown, a mother has to tell a daughter, be numb, no matter what happens with you.”
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She added, "I felt many times in my social work also. There is so much which is happening in the world, but I am not able to do anything. In life also, you feel you are so helpless. It's just about the riots, but it's what's happening around us. You feel numb, you feel when things are going to change? You [wonder] what will happen. Though it's a short project, but it says so much. It has so many questions that are beyond any communal, anything."
ALSO READ: Abhiroop Basu Says A Changed Perspective On Gujarat Riots Influenced Short Film Gudgudi: Women Don't Have Religion | Exclusive
Rajshri on different roles in her career
Besides balancing an acting career, Rajshri devotes much of her much of time to social work uplifting rural communities within Maharashtra. The actress revealed that when she began working in the film industry, she had to constantly question herself, ‘Why am I doing this?’
She said, "Initially I thought whether films are going to change anything. When I started working, I've started telling more and more stories and because of that, my choices have changed because [of] my on-ground work. Every project I'm taking, I have to tell a story which is about people, about humanity, about what is happening in the world, about human emotions, about ups and downs. Be it Trial by Fire, be it Goddesses to Durga, all of them they've done something. They are like you and me, some of them have changed the world like Savitribai Phule to Ismat Chugtai to even Neelam Krishnamoorthy, so I feel that their story has to come forward."
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Rajshri felt that while she can't become these people entirely, she puts what she can of herself into the character to show the world what they have done. She shared, "In a short film like this, even if it's a small space, I'm there. I'm telling a story of a woman, of a person, of a human being, who has gone through this. I feel it's a responsibility that I have to be so prepared that people don't recognise me, they should not think that it's Rajshri Deshpande. They should just think about that person's journey and not Rajshri Deshpande's journey over there."
The actress's upcoming project is the Amazon Prime Video series Rangeen. Directed by Kopal Naithani and Pranjal Dua, it also stars Vineet Kumar Singh and Taaruk Raina.