EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW! Raveena Tandon on Karmma Calling, ageism & OTT boom| Not Just Bollywood

In the recently released Karmma Calling, Raveen Tandon plays the role of Indrani Kothari, a woman with a mysterious back story. In an exclusive interview for Firstpost’s Not Just Bollywood, she talks not only about the show, but a topic which not everybody wishes to discuss especially in the entertainment industry and that is ‘ageism in Bollywood’.

 Edited excerpts from the interview:

How much do you relate to the character of Indrani Kothari in Disney+Hotstar’s Karmma Calling ?

She’s absolutely not me. The only thing that’s relatable is that she used to be an actress, but I’m still working and she’s also not someone I know.

Was playing this character more challenging since there’s no similarity or was it more refreshing for you?

 Once you start watching the series, you’ll know why it was challenging because you feel she’s the one who’s responsible for everything, there’s a very thin line, because then you feel she’s the victim. This has been a trying character because she’s trying to gain sympathy and then you feel this is the lesson she needs to learn. This is a character that has been played with, I had to play with her emotions.

How real and vulnerable is the character?

There are some places where her vulnerability shines. It was a very tricky character to essay.

What was the thought process that went behind when you took up this role?

Things are almost like destiny for me. When Aranyak came to me, it came to me from three to four different platforms till the time I actually said yes to Netflix and they worked on the character a lot. It was something that was meant to happen with me, and even at that time it was being made as a series. Things didn’t fall into place as I was not ready to give 260 days or something like that. Years later, it came to me and everything was falling into place.

OTT has given you and so many other actors different opportunities to explore your talent. What is your take on the whole experience of working on OTT?

OTT is a great space for actors to experiment with the kind of things they want to do. When I did Aranyak, it was intentional to choose this kind of a role because from the Sheher Ki Ladki or the other images about me that people have. I really wanted to do something as a character I have never done before. And then this character came along, so for me, these were two extreme characters. The gamble worked. I also did KGF 2 that was theatrical. I don’t know how much justice Aranyak and Revenge would do theatrically as we have to encapsulate everything in those two hours. You don’t get enough room for your character to grow, which OTT allows you to do.

What do you have to say about ageism in Bollywood and are actresses in the entertainment industry now getting meatier roles?

I don’t know about ageism but yes it did really hamper because back in the 80s and 90s where women were getting married and having kids, but slowly and gradually, there is an awareness in the industry that women of all age groups can do lead roles with the correct storyline.

Today, we have an equal number of opportunities in terms of workshops and technical workshops. It has panned out beautifully I think. And with the advent of OTT, we have got exposed to a lot of world cinema, which has opened a lot of doors, today we have anti-heroes films as well and women doing layered roles.

What next for you?

I’m jumping into Welcome 3, and there was a time when I used to love comedies, that genre has been one of my fortes as well.