Not in the rat race: Anjali Patil

Anjali Patil is a multilingual artiste - she understands Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam pretty well. She has dubbed in Sinhalese, voiced for her own role in Rajnikanth’s “Kaala” in Tamil and is currently learning the “sensuous” Spanish.

“By the end of two months, I hope I’ll be fluent in it. I started with French but somehow, I could not get on with it. Then I thought I’ll try something else and if I feel I’ll come back to it. Spanish is sensuous. I still love French more but think now Spanish it is,” the actor says.

Patil, a National School of Drama graduate who made her debut with “Delhi in a Day” 2011, says acting is barely a means to an end - it keeps her financially afloat and allows her to concentrate on her other projects.

“Acting pays my bills, gets me money so I can nurture the other parts of artiste in me - reading, music or writing poems. I never really had tremendous ambition to go or reach somewhere,” she told in an interview.

The actor, who played Malko in the National Award-winning “Newton”, says she is not interested in the quintessential rat race in the film industry.

“I am still happy because I have different ambitions and plans about my life. I have a different idea of leading my life, which thankfully doesn’t involve being No 1,” she says.

Patil agrees more parts are being written for women today but it is still tough for her as she is “really choosy”.
She says she tries to stay out of the debate about the representation of women on screen as for her, being associated with the process of filmmaking is more important.

“I kind of stay out of this as I have a lot of things to focus on. I came in films as an actor was a mere coincidence. I love the medium and I love the process of filmmaking in its entirety so I kept going on with it.” But Patil says writing parts for women in films still has a long way to go as she feels her Malko, in the “pure gold” script of “Newton”, deserved more.

“I was not sure about coming on board for ‘Newton’. I have worked in films with me as the protagonist, but they were all female oriented films. Even though people see her as an important part of the script of Newton, I wanted more for Malko.”

“Not just the screen space. That there’s more for the woman in the story.” Patil says she is not interested in creating any brand image as it a “futile, illusionary concept”.

“No matter how philosophical I may sound, it is true. As a public personality, I come with a lot of responsibility. A lot of people follow what I say. So, I can be truthful and do my job honestly... Guide people in right direction and not use it for my economic benefit.”

Patil’s recent film was “Meri Nimmo”, which released on Eros Now’s digital platform. The actor says the movie is a touching journey of an eight-year-old boy who falls for a woman, Nimmo (Patil) who has known him since his childhood and how he comes to terms with his idea of “love” when she is about to get engaged.

“It’s a really special film. Very heartfelt and it explores what goes through the child's mind when he sees her getting engaged. How he handles himself when he realises what they have is more than love.” Patil is a graduate in direction from the NSD but she says that does not qualify her as a director.

The actor, however, is currently writing the script of her directorial debut, which she calls a “personal” story. Besides “Kaala”, her other projects include Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s “Mere Pyaare Prime Minister”.

By: Radhika Sharma