Soon after the completion of this year’s sleeper hit Masaan, actor Richa Chaddha told Vicky Kaushal and Shweta Tripathi, “Say bye bye to anonymity.” Prophetic words in retrospect and Shweta relearns their truth everytime she wants to retreat to anonymity. She smiles, “This is an industry where appearance matters and there is no denying that. It’s show business. But it’s not only that. There is much, much more to it. Sure, there are days you get out in your crumpled pyjamas and don’t want to be recognised but I guess you cannot complain.”
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When Shweta was recently nominated for the Best Acting Debut (Female) for the Stardust film Awards and was wished luck, she had laughed and said, “I will look my best, THAT I can promise.” Do not ever expect her to complain about loss of privacy, nepotism in the film industry, bad weather, traffic snarls, missed opportunities, unfair dice games that decide stardom and failure. She is a warrior whose biggest weapon is good cheer and optimism. She is too busy loving her life, the work she is doing on interesting film sets and the opportunities her debut film Masaan has led her to, to care about who is ahead of her or behind her.
And her attitude is paying off. At this year’s MAMI (The Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image) Film Festival, director Shlok Sharma’s film Haraamkhor starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Shweta won the Silver Gateway of India trophy. For Shweta, this capped a dream year that began in May with Masaan premiering at the Cannes Film Festival and winning FIPRESCI, International Jury of Film Critics prize and Promising Future prize in the Un Certain Regard section.
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Haraamkhor, the discomforting tale of a teacher’s destructive obsession for a student is just the kind of a challenge that Shweta would instinctively grab and she is aware of just how serendipitous it is that in her first two films, she has got to play flesh and blood characters rather than types. And no, there is no pressure at all to look a certain way even though she is now officially, a young, female actor to watch out for. “Even when I was starting out, it was just about the excitement I felt on stage and in various theatre workshops. It was my happy place. Now there is so much more I understand. I am a part of the industry and I want to keep growing because nothing makes me happier than acting. If there is any pressure at all, it’s to keep raising my standard and improving my work. You can only be the best version of yourself so that’s what I want to concentrate on. Body will get you work for a couple of years. Soul will get it for a lifetime. I am in this for the long run.”
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She continues, “The other day, a colleague who incidentally has made some very commercially successful films told me that I was incredibly lucky to be getting the kind of work that I am getting and how much she envied me. It has been a dream to travel the world with my films and to some extent, that dream has come true.”
The world is watching Indian cinema she says, (Even Martin Scorsese watched Masaan recently) and she is grateful that she is getting work which is not shallow but is resonating with audiences.
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The high of hearing a packed audience cheer Haraamkhor in Chandan Cinema where crowd pleasing films like Dabangg are run, was incredible and Shweta is particularly happy for Shlok who struggled a lot to complete his film. Says she, “He waited or so long and he deserves this success and the joy of seeing the tickets of the premiere show selling out within six minutes.” About the complex scenes between her character and Nawaz, she says, “It really wasn’t discomforting. When you know it’s the actor you are acting with not the character, you know both are in control. Respect for your co actor is very important, no matter what the scene might be. Respect and trust . This I have learnt from Nawaz.”
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She has a theory about why after nine years of working towards a career in cinema, she is finally living a dream that included among other things, a five minute long standing ovation for Masaan at Cannes, and doors which seems to be swinging open to welcome her into worlds she one just dreamt about.
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“You need to be true to yourself, live and breathe your dreams and exude vibes of such absolute faith and desire that the universe, the kaynaat finally responds.You also end up meeting your ‘kind’ of people. I have been fortunate to connect as an actor with Anurag Kashyap, Neeraj Ghaywan, Shlok Sharma and Sanjoy Nag and even co-actors and crew members who have the same beliefs about the work that we collaborated on. A good team brings out the best in an actor. I am looking forward to more such experiences and would love to work with Zoya Akhtar and Vishal Bhardwaj too.”
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About her own progress as an actor, she says, “I firmly believe that you get good work via good work. I started shooting for Haraamkhor first and the footage got me Masaan. I did not have to audition for these roles as the directors were aware of my work. I don’t want to think too much about if am creating a niche because then the thoughts will take over the work which is what it is all about. But yes, it has taken nine years for such doors to open and I have finally stepped inside.”
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Among the future projects she is excited about is Goodmorning Sunshine, a film by Sanjoy Nag, especially because it also stars Revathy, an actor she really looks up to. “The film revolves around a young woman who walks out of her marital home because it doesn’t have a toilet. When I first read the script, it was hard to imagine it as a film but it is turning out to be very entertaining and yes, it has a meaningful message too,” says Shweta.
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The journey has just begun though and says Shweta,“It is not that after two acclaimed films, I have arrived. The struggle will continue and you can never ever say in a creative life that you have made it because the day you say it, you are finished.” And the NIFT graduate, erstwhile photo editor with Femina, scuba diving, travelling and photography enthusiast, who first faced the camera in 2009 for the television series Kya Mast Hai Life, is just getting started.
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As the year winds up, she reaffirms the most important life lesson of all.“Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier. Mother Teresa said that and I really believe it. But my own learning this year has been this. If something is bothering you, address it. If you can’t, let it go. It’s not easy but at least we can all start somewhere.”