Exclusive! Geetanjali Kulkarni: Fortunate to be in an era where powerful roles are written for me

Unpaused has set out on its ‘naya safar’. The series sees a short of five different stories, one of which is War Room. For those who do not know what a war room is, it is where battles are planned. One can see the status of each troop member and a doctor is always on standby for immediate treatment of an injured soldier. As Ayappa KM explores the concept with Geetanjali Kulkarni and Sharvari Deshpande, the trio also talk to OTTplay about their year gone by and what lies ahead for them. Excerpts…

Ayappa:

Is Naya Safar a continuation of Unpaused which released in 2020?

It's almost season two. The stories are set in the pandemic and revolve around hope.

What was the idea behind reviving the series?

I wouldn't be able to answer that question since I just came in my individual capacity to make the series.

With Omicron now creating panic, do you think it was the right time to release this series?

Why not? Anyway, people are going to be sitting at home so they can watch it.

Geetanjali:

Karkhanisanchi Waari, Humble Politician Nograj and now Unpaused. With so many back-to-back releases, do you believe 2022 will also be your year?

I don't know that. I had shot Karkhanisanchi Waari and Humble Politician Nograj before pandemic. As actors, everything comes together. I have been working for 25 years. Because of OTT platforms and new filmmakers, wonderful work is coming my way. I'm very fortunate to be in this era since such beautiful and powerful roles are written for me, who is in her 50s. I would like to thank the writers and makers for giving me an opportunity to portray characters of different shades and genres. I'm really thankful to be in this era.

Would it be right to say that you believe OTT has given scope for better stories?

Better opportunities, I would say. Not necessarily every story on OTT platforms are great but the platform has given an opportunity to filmmakers, storytellers, actors and technicians to portray their work which isn't always possible in a film format because that is more extensive. There is no distribution and other things come into picture there. However, with OTT, there are better opportunities for filmmakers because there is a different kind of audience too.

A: In a film, since there are limitations, people try to control a film. On OTT, that is not the case and so it has opened up the market and given us so many more opportunities. It's really on the directors and actors whether they want to turn that into a great opportunity or great future for India or stick to the formula which we have been seeing since so many years.

Do you believe in Sangeetha Waghmare's ideology? If not, how did you become her?

As an artist, I don't really know what kind of an ideology do I belong to. I am interested in people, their stories and life. Even if a character is not of my ideology but it is dramatic and has a layered personality and brings up the complexities of life, then I'm interested. I became an actor because I find people interesting. If I play myself, it will become boring. I'm such a boring person.

How did you transform into her character?

I don't know if I could transform per say but of course, the script is very powerful and that helped me a lot. It's very complex, layered and shows human life which is very interesting. She has a lot of challenges in life. She's going through a lot and has faced a lot in life. Despite that, she's hopeful and forgiving which is so beautiful. It is shown in such a nuanced way. The team was very professional and it made me feel like I was working for a feature film - that's how much fun it was!

What was it about Sangeetha that pulled you to doing the role?

As people, we go through so much pain, grief and challenges in life. When you portray that honestly in a story, it attracts you as a person. It is also quite closer to the truth. You capture this truth in a 20-25 minute story but it is so real. There are stories which have such honest writing where you have seen people going through the pain and challenges. You feel for the character as an artist because you can rarely tell a story so powerfully. I couldn't have asked for more as an actor.

Your upcoming projects?

Rangbaaz and Gullak season 3. We have actually shot for Gullak already and are ready for release, if things go as planned.

Sharvari:

What is your character’s backstory?

There isn't so much of a backstory to her. She is just running the war room and looking over it while so many volunteers look up to her. She is working under enormous pressure. Through Sangeeta's story, you get to see a boss in the war room who has a human moment.

Did you have any real-life reference to play her on-screen?

Ayappa and his team guided me through it. The story focuses on human experiences of these people and that is something which takes more work to understand. The script is very empathetic and thus, everything was on the page. With their help, I was able to empathise with mine as well as Sangeeta's character.

When you say empathise, does it mean as a person or as the character?

As a person and as the character. Ultimately as an actor, I felt that story. It is about a very stressful situation during war room times.

To what extent would you say the story is real? If seeing from a doctor's perspective, what was your view on War Room?

It is extremely real.

A: We went for realism with the sets and characters. It is about a regular person who's put in an unexpected scenario. One thing this film is, is that it's absolutely real.

While we were shooting, we spoke to a lot of war room employees. They came across as extremely happy and cheerful but I'm sure that nobody can be totally sorted with a hectic and stressful job. You would be really frustrated also. You would inhuman to not feel anything and be totally okay with everything going on. It's a moral drama that asks you if you want to stay true or play dirty? Hopefully by the end of the film, you answer it yourself.