Raveena Tandon says 90s actresses were stereotyped, took time to establish themselves: ‘What a hero would earn in one film, we got after 15’

In an interview with Indianexpress.com, Raveena said she today understands that she was stereotyped also because actresses had very little freedom to choose, with monetary factor also playing a huge part in the number of films one signed as the pay parity with male stars was massive.

“There was a stereotyping earlier on when we started. But in retrospect when I think, there was that stereotyping because in the earlier days we would not do one-two films at a time, we would do 10-12 movies at a time. The thought for some films was, if it is a big star and a big director, it is going to be a superhit film let’s do it. In those days there wasn’t much selection.

“Of course, the monies were not that great for actresses in those days as well. What one hero would make in one film, we would after 15-16 films. More so we would then probably do many more films also. So, the stereotyping happened because you took time to establish yourself. When those films released, which had fixed scenes, six superhit songs, then more films like that would come and you would go on signing blindly. There was no career planning as such. It took us time to establish ourselves,” she said.

That isn’t the case anymore, Raveena feels, as she highlights how female stars today find themselves at a better position, with meatier films coming their way right at the beginning of their career and the opportunity of streaming shows giving one more leg room to play with.

“Luckily, that has changed now. The times are such that after an Om Shanti Om, Deepika Padukone gets a Bajirao Mastani as her fifth-sixth film, getting the opportunity to do roles that she would want to do, which we got in our 20th after working for a big span. The actresses in our industry are luckily getting that in their fourth-fifth film to do.

“An Alia Bhatt got a chance to do a Highway with a good director like Imtiaz, straight after Student of the Year. That is just fantastic. In those days it definitely took time for us to establish ourselves. It wasn’t like we would think meticulously, ‘Oh I will do this next.’ Of course, OTT has also opened it up for every kind of film to be made,” she added.

In her latest project, Patna Shukla, Raveena plays a small-time lawyer Tanvi Shukla. The legal drama offered Raveena a chance to do something new and not fall back on her comfort zone. Without taking names, the actor said in her 2.0 phase of her career, she has rejected “quite a few” projects which have went on to become huge successes.

“Some of them have went to become hits. But the thing was that would be me in my shehar ki ladki avatar all the time. There are a few that I have definitely rejected but then that didn’t give me the varied opportunity to play a completely different character. There was a temptation, I wish I could name them. A lot of them that have been offered to me, some of them went on to have season one, two or three. But that’s what it is, sometimes you have to sacrifice something for something. You can’t have it all.

“If you see Aryanak, the pahadi cop was strong from the beginning, she wasn’t submissive like Tanvi Shukla, who knows that she is not the best. She is a small-time lawyer who is not confident, but she starts believing in that cause and starts to push herself. So you can see the difference in characters. Even in Karmma Calling, my character has a vulnerability which comes out almost as self-defense, she becomes harsh, manipulative, controlling,” she added.

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