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Padmini Kolhapure, who entered films as a child actor and later went on to give quite a few hits, is set for a comeback of sorts with Daughter. The actress says returning to movies was a natural choice.
"I have always been associated with acting from a very young age. I took a break because I wanted to have a family of my own. Now that my son has grown up, what else could I return to but acting?" Kolhapure said.
The actress, who married producer Tutu Sharma at the peak of her career, did make a brief return to films with Souten in 2006, but it didn't do too well.
Kolhapure says she chose Visu Mane's small-budget film Daughter because the character really appealed to her.
"My character is ... interesting. I play a married, working woman who doesn't want to have children for the sake of her career. Upset with her decision, her father-in-law adopts a baby girl. She gradually develops motherly feelings towards the baby and then wants to start her own family," the actress explained.
She said the story highlights the "necessity of adopting a girl child". "Being a woman, I know how much cheer a girl brings to a family."
Excerpts from the interview:
Can you relate to your character in Daughter?
Well, I was a working woman myself until I got married. I left acting because I wanted to have a family of my own. So I have been able to empathise with the character.
Will it inspire people to adopt a girl child?
You know, in India, a male child is still the first preference of a family. But times are changing. Today you don't differentiate between boys and girls. It's only a physical difference; otherwise they are equal in all respects.
Given a chance, would you adopt a girl child?
I would have as I have only a son. But at this stage, it is not possible. My son has grown up.
What is the highlight of Daughter?
The story essentially highlights the necessity of adopting a girl child. Being a woman, I know how much cheer a girl brings to a family. I am sure people will like the movie and the women especially will be able to identify with Rucha, the girl around whom the movie revolves. Rucha epitomises the typical Indian girl of today.
The movie is not being promoted in a big way. Are you happy with the end product?
Well Daughter is not a star-studded, big budget movie to merit huge promotion. Its merit is its theme. It is a very contemporary movie. I appreciate that Medha Mehendale came forward to produce it. Visu Mane is the director and my co-stars Vikram Gokhale, Rema, Ayub Khan, Vinod Singh and Rucha have done their best to make it presentable to the audience.
Madhuri Dixit made a comeback, but it turned out to be a damp squib. Are you confident your second innings will be as fruitful as the first one?
Oh, my God! You've got me scared. No, I haven't made any deliberate move to make it big in movies this time around.
Did you know?
Legendary Bollywood singer Asha Bhosle, who is Padmini Kolhapure's aunt, suggested her name to Dev Anand who cast the then 10-year-old in Ishq Ishq Ishq (1975). This led to other films, such as Dreamgirl (1978), Zingagi and Saajan Bina Suhagan (1978).
Kolhapure's most famous child role was playing Zeenat Aman as a child in Raj Kapoor's film Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1977).
Kolhapure graduated to lead roles when she was 17 in Nasir Hussain's Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai opposite Rishi Kapoor. The film flopped, but she reunited with Rishi Kapoor for his father Raj Kapoor's film Prem Rog (1982). The film earned her the Filmfare Best Actress Award.
Kolhapure's most controversial role was Insaaf Ka Tarazu (1980), a remake of the film Lipstick, in which she played the rape victim that was originally played by Mariel Hemingway. She won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for her role.
Kiss and tell
In 1980, Padmini Kolhapure, then an aspiring Bollywood star, shocked the entire country when instead of offering a traditional Indian welcome to Prince Charles in Mumbai, she planted a kiss on his cheek, when he visited a studio where a blockbuster was being filmed. On asked how she looks back at the kiss controversy, she said: "What controversy? It was just a peck on the cheek.. the media took it somewhere else. It was no big deal."
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