Tisca Chopra

Although she was applauded for her role as Darsheel Safary’s mother in Aamir Khan’s directorial debut, ‘Taare Zameen Par’ (2007), Tisca Chopra’s appearances in commercial Bollywood films have been far and few between. Ageism, a phenomenon that Hollywood artistes are being increasingly vocal about, is cited as the reason for the limited screen time the actor enjoys.

“I am willing to do any film, even mainstream Bollywood projects. But, the industry doesn’t have enough space for artistes like me. It doesn’t know how to cast an actor who would not fit into the quintessential role of a bhabhi, behen or biji. There aren’t enough characters written [for such actors]. While people talk about how the industry is changing, it will take several years for such stronger characters to become a part of cinema.”

Chopra, who is gearing up for her forthcoming Indian drama, ‘The Hungry’, an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, alongside Naseeruddin Shah, says that despite its progress, Bollywood still banks on stereotypes. The actor says she derives satisfaction by creating her own content instead.

“Who would have thought that a film called Chutney will earn over a million views and bag awards,” she questions of her 2016 short which revolved around a housewife and her cheating husband.The Hungry pairs Chopra with Shah for the first time. The actor, she admits, she has known “beyond movies”, but terms watching him perform, and enacting alongside him ‘surreal’. “There’s so much to learn from him.”

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