Exclusive! Rajshri Deshpande: I’m not doing social work because I’m an actor

Rajshri Deshpande, currently seen in Madhuri Dixit-Nene’s web series The Fame Game, has been caught up with the post-production work of her upcoming project (dubbing) and social work. The actress, while talking to OTTplay, said that she does social work because it is as important as breathing for her. Recently, she was accused of taking up social work because she’s an actor.

We spoke to Rajshri about her character Shobha from The Fame Game, who belonged to the LGBTQ+ community, how she prepped for it, how she reacted on sets under certain situations and more. Rajshri also spoke about how she connects with the people of Marathwada’s brought-prone villages among other things. Excerpts…

What’s going on? How is life?

I’m dubbing for another show which I finished last year. My voice is gone.

What kind of responses have you been receiving for The Fame Game?

It’s very good and interesting. The observation from LGBTQ+ community (because my character is one of them) is so good. The representation is right which everyone, including the community, is saying. So, I’m very happy to see that people are telling me I treated the character like an everyday woman/human. It’s very important that people relate to me, my character, the way I am on the show. I feel really good about that.

Like you rightly mentioned, it represents a company. Now, we don't usually see homosexual characters in uniform. What was your approach on playing the character as a tough cop but who has layers in her personal life?

I’ve approached it as a human character, not with the gender thing. I believe that we’re all human beings first. That’s her choice to be a certain gender. She believed in that. So, I haven’t approached it in a very different way. Of course, I wanted to understand the integrity of this person, where she has come from, what kind of a background she has and how is her family and her relationship with the them or with the society and how difficult it was for her when she realized she is from a certain community. We are still in a particular society where this practice isn’t there and so she had to fight with it and stand still with her decision that she won’t lie because of who or what she is. She also said that whatever happened, she never lied and always stayed true. There’s so much in the script itself so I didn’t have to go back and find things elsewhere. The whole history was written in the script in a line or two – how she sees the gender issue and what happens at her workplace. You get to know everything about Shobha in a line. How she met her partner, thinks about the relationship, takes the decision that she has to take control of everything even for her partner’s child or office space. People often ask how I embodied her because she’s very bold but there’s another factor. You don’t have to label them as bold because you are also that somewhere. There are certain circumstances where you are a tough person. You are not that way throughout your life, right? Everyone is different with other people. I’m different with my manager, my assistant and family. That’s exactly Shobha. You shouldn’t put out such a label because she is behaving a certain way. She is just a normal person behaving a certain way under circumstances. I feel such characters aren’t represented well enough. Very few projects show LGBTQ+ community in the correct way. Here, she’s not cliched or written wrongly. Our director, writer and everyone showed sensitivity while portraying the character. I also made sure not to go overboard anywhere and just showed what she has gone through till now. I see in my everyday life. There are women. These are people who acknowledge and honour their vulnerability, strength and complexity. You don’t have to always be loud to raise a point. You just need to blend in rather than stand out and make it normal. We need to create that kind of platform – where we all are equal.

In Fame Game, there is also a story about you as a person apart from the cop. Was that a driving factor for choosing the role?

Yeah. For me, of course, it was a driving force. She came out so beautifully. It was written sensitively. After long, I felt like a character isn’t cliched or over-the-board. That was one. Apart from that, the show itself is very interesting. Being from the film industry, I can say that there is so much going on behind the camera than in front of it. You face two different worlds in front of and behind the camera. It’s interesting how the artists deal with it. When you’re in front of people, you have to put on another face. Even if you have tension going on at your home, you cannot afford to show that and have to be calm. I definitely love the way each and every character is shown. I always want to be part of something that’s well-written, interesting, important and sensitive at the same time.

You play a strong woman in a man's world. People do not take a minute to pull you down either by talking about your homosexuality or simply passing on your job to someone else. As a woman who is in that role, how did it make you feel? It appears you had to act differently on-screen, probably control your anger or the likes. Tell me about that.

I want to ask you the same question. I feel the world belongs to everyone. Unfortunately, though, everyone has to face this thing. The sexism that Shobha got is what every woman goes through. Even you would have gone through a situation where a man tells you that you cannot do something they can do. Some people feel demotivated, depressed or angry in the situation. Shobha also has her own way of dealing with the situation. Imagine the LGBTQ+ community who go through that and another sexism because of their identity. The community’s fight is big. We as women also definitely have a huge fight but that’s different. They have to face a bigger fight. It is tough for everyone. I feel that when I look at Shobha, I know what women and the whole community has gone through. It wasn’t new but normal for me. That’s why I wasn’t surprised and so wasn’t Shobha. She knew what was going to happen. So, the way I reacted was very normal because I know how to deal with this thing.

However, you as Rajshri didn’t feel angry when Shobha went through so much?

Actually, that is what people related to the most. They understand that you could get angry to another level but cannot leave your job because of certain reasons. Many people feel frustrated but cannot vent out. Shobha responded to them in a satirical manner and also didn’t fight. People have taken that well. She has gone through things but she won’t leave her job because she loves doing it and knows she’s good at it.

You have been a part of Angry Indian Goddesses when it was still coming-of-age. There were so many different layers of female characters in that film, of course including yours. What I'm trying to understand is, would you say that movie has become a reference point for your roles, including that of Shobha from The Fame Game?

No, actually. I feel every stories are different. Those stories are different than Shobha’s. I don’t think there’s any connection between them. When it comes to such things, we feel that the stories are connected but I don’t think so. They are two different characters.

You recently revealed that Shobha, like most of your characters, is something you observed in people around you. Does that mean the people you observed did come out of the closet and accepted and flaunted who they are? Because India is still very averse to the concept of homosexuality and that would be a bold step.

Of course, absolutely. There are so many of my friends and people I know. We read about them, see them and know them. You don’t have to search far to find someone like Shobha because she lives among us. You could say that Shobha is a character that has been developed after observing 10 people. When I observe people and understand how they behave and why and I can connect it to Shobha, then I do that. The way she walks, has done martial arts before etc. is a history I prepare for my character so I can move forward with it. You know how a classical dancer will sit. I prepare a history for myself, to understand their psychology, sociological issues and their emotions. I club them together and create a person.

You work in drought-prone villages when not acting. While it is a way to unwind, is it also a way to understand a certain section of India better?

The village work and acting work started together. It started with the need to be on-ground to work. Even though they happen together, it doesn’t mean that I do social work because I’m an actor. I do social work because it’s important and need of the hour. I work with farmers because they are the sections we need to work on. If things are not going on, then I believe in going on ground and do it. I don’t know why but somebody has written that way but for me, I look at social work as something as important as breathing. I believe in doing something on-ground rather than talking about it on social media. I want to see the problems and solve them myself. Seeing that, you learn a lot. It happens simultaneously. It’s not that I’m doing social work because I’m an actor (laughs).

No, that wasn’t what I intended to ask you. I completely respect your decision of going there and working with them. What I was trying to ask you is, that while doing social work, like you mentioned, you do learn a lot. So, does that help you understand a section of society better to be able to bring them alive in your characters? I’m not saying it’s the primary purpose for you going there but somewhere, does the experience help you understand people better?

For an actor, it’s very important to learn from and observe people to understand characters. Till you don’t have a backstory, how will you understand your character. You have to read something, watch and grasp to get knowledge. How will you know the frustration till you don’t understand the anxiety. That’s how I look at it. It benefits me but that’s not why I do social work. I believe that ground work is generally important.

Are these people aware about your characters? How do they react when you visit them?

No, actually. Unfortunately, no. I work in Marathwada villages where Marathi Television is more than films. Thus, people don’t go to a theatre to watch a film. They’re a rural part, so those who have TV, they watch that. My films never come on Television and many of my films travel to festivals so nobody has access to that. The OTT platforms will also take a lot of time to reach the rural areas but hopefully one day, they’ll get to see good content on OTT platforms. There’s no awareness and we’re still fighting for education in those places.

Right. They’re even struggling for water, so it would be tough to convince them for entertainment…

Exactly. I would want to give them the basic needs like water, a proper home, toilet, electricity and school before introducing them to the digital world.

Your upcoming projects?

There’s something very interesting and important that I’ve just completed. I’m very excited about it. Let’s see. Hopefully people will know about it soon.