Journalism of Courage
Having essayed serious characters so far,Devika Daftardar,winner of the Prabhat Film Award for best actress,wishes to do a comic role
An ailing producer asks his wife to make a film on his favourite story based on a king,a queen and a court singer. The young filmmaker Revati,broods on the script,which seems to take a life of its own,as she gets engrossed in the lives of these characters. In this story of love,detachment,surrender and passion,the young director’s personal life gets intermingled with the pre-independence royal world that she is trying to create. Devika Daftardar,who portrays the role of the young filmmaker as well as the queen in the Marathi film Samhita,won the first ever Prabhat Film Award for best actress on Saturday evening.
It is such a wonderful feeling when your work is appreciated, says Pune-based Daftardar enthusiastically. It was such a challenging role,but I could not have done it without the help of my very talented directors Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukthankar, she says.
Daftardar is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer,born and brought up in Pune. Known for her insightful performances in critically-acclaimed films such as Shala and Nirop,among others,Daftardar feels that Samhita was by far,one of the most challenging roles she has had to do. On one hand,I was supposed to play a young,modern filmmaker. On the other hand,I had to imbibe myself to act as a royal a queen,with all the grace,poise and courtly manners I could muster, says Daftardar. It took a lot of research,but by the end of it,I was content with my performance, she says. Samhita,produced by Subhash Ghai’s Mukta Arts also stars Milind Soman,Rajeshwari Sachdev,Uttara Baokar and Daftardar in the lead roles.
The 32-year-old actor has just finished a film titled Astu with the director duo Bhave and Sukthankar,and now is working on a film which revolves around the dacoits in Chambal. Open to acting in Marathi as well as Hindi films,Daftardar adds that she does not want to do the running around the trees and singing kind of roles. Because I have done serious roles so far,I am being offered similar roles again, she says. But I don’t mind that as well. As long as the role is meaningful and the filmmakers sincere,I will be happy to experiment, she says adding that on her next-to-do list is a comic role.
Married to filmmaker Virendra Valsangkar,Daftardar is happy with the fact that there is a healthy and artistic atmosphere at work as well as at home. Valsangkar is a noted filmmaker who had won a National award last year for his docu-drama Vishnupant Damle: The Unsung Hero of Talkies,based on the life of the founder of the erstwhile Prabhat Film Company in Pune.
