Meet Abha Sharma, the 75-year-old actress who played Amma ji in Panchayat, lost all her teeth at 35 and never married

In an exclusive conversation with indianexpress.com, Abha Sharma, now 75, shared her life story and impressed us with her “never give up” attitude. She said, “I wanted to become an actor since childhood. But, my mother didn’t approve of the film industry. She didn’t like this profession. And I didn’t want to go against her will. Although my family was well-educated, they were a little orthodox. After my mom died, I once again pursued acting. And this time, I had the support of my siblings.”

Abha Sharma during her college days.

Abha was the youngest in her family. She had an older sister and brother, who have now passed away. While their families are settled in Delhi and Hyderabad, respectively. After the death of her father, who worked in a telecom company, Abha Sharma stayed back to take care of her ailing mother and never married. Always wanting to be an artist, Abha after gaining a diploma degree from the JJ School of Arts, took up teaching as her profession in 1979.

She  didn’t have an easy life. At the age of 35, due to an infection in the gums, Abha lost all her teeth. However, this didn’t stop her from keeping her job. Again, at the age of 45, the actress developed a rare condition that made her limbs shiver.

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In 1991, she quit teaching.

Abha Sharma poses with her neighbour’s kids.

It was in 2008, when Abha started doing theatre in Lucknow, to finally live her dreams and do what she wanted. However, she says she couldn’t participate in a lot of dramas.

In 2009, the actress was informed about an audition that was happening in the city. It was for the ad of Bank Of Baroda. With the help of two of her fellow theatre mates, she gave her first ever audition. As they say, if you are destined for something, nothing can stop you. Abha cracked her very first audition and in no time she found herself in Mumbai on the ad set.

“I so easily landed my first role that I was yet to process it. I was anticipating ‘Mai Mumbai toh jaa rahi hu par director bolega isse kaam nahi hopayega (I am going to Mumbai but the director may not approve of my work).’ I was quite nervous and scared. The ad I was offered was quite big. The set terrified me. The guy who was seated next to me, also part of the ad, he told me, ‘I am too new, please co-operate with me.’ I said, ‘I am newer, you too co-operate with me.’ But, after I gave my shot, the director told me, ‘Ma ji, ap bahaut acha kar rahi hai’. I was over the moon. All my fears went away. I was motivated.”

Abha Sharma during her theatre days.

Soon, Abha Sharma was offered two biopics, one of them being Hajiyani. Later, she was offered a role in Parineeti Chopra and Arjun Kapoor starrer Ishaqzaade (2012).

“I was also part of one of Sudhir Mishra’s films, the role was quite small, but the director was extremely impressed,” said Abha Sharma.

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Amid all these projects, Abha Sharma had also landed a role in the film Peepli Live (2010), where she first met her Panchayat co-star Raghubir Yadav, but due to sudden health scare, she couldn’t shoot her part which was eventually given to another artist.

After Covid, Anurag Shukla Shiva, whom Abha met at her theatre and is also her tenant in Lucknow, convinced her to tape an audition video for a role in Panchayat. Abha Sharma, who didn’t understand the meaning of web series until then, landed a role in it.

 

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Abha Sharma, who was on the sets of Panchayat for 10 days, recalled her experience and told, “I was a little skeptical about the series, but after I reached the sets, I was so convinced. All of my co-stars, the director, makeup man, they were all very co-operative.”

While other stars complained about the extreme heat on the set in Madhya Pradesh, Abha Sharma said, “If you are passionate about something then none of these things matter. It was definitely too hot there and I did feel it too during a few shots of mine, but I was determined to complete my shoot. I loved the experience.”

 

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Abha Sharma, who says that she was mostly explained the situation and was let to do her own acting, recalled an interesting anecdote where she almost scared one of the assistant directors.

She said, “There was a scene where I was supposed to eat a tablet. I knew I didn’t have to eat the tablet for real yet I acted. It made the assistant director believe I ate the tablet for real, he was concerned. He asked me, ‘did you eat the tablet for real’, I said, ‘No, here’s your tablet’, he was so impressed. He said, ‘You are amazing.’ I used to have a lot of fun on set.”

Abha Sharma, who waited 54 years to live her dream, shared an important message with the younger generation. She said, “If you are passionate about anything, even a little bit, pursue it. I really hope god helps every artist the way he helped me.”

While Abha Sharma continues to win hearts, she will soon be seen in the film Durga Prasad Ki Dusri Shadi, starring Sanjay Mishra and Mahima Chudhary. She has another project in her kitty, Kumbh, which is yet to release.