Soni Razdan on playing mummy to daughter Alia Bhatt in 'Raazi': Working with her was a privilege

It was in 1981 that a young, British-born actress made her debut in Hindi cinema with Aparna Sen’s 36 Chowringhee Lane. She followed it up with films like Saaransh, Mandi, Sadak, and Page 3 among many others. She had a successful stint on television with the serial Buniyaad and acted on stage with veterans like Satyadev Dubey. But nothing came easy for Soni Razdan, who was born to a German mother and Kashmiri father. “Getting into films wasn’t easy, particularly for me because I didn’t exactly look like an Indian village girl when I was young. I was getting into an industry which wasn’t ready for me at any level. For me, to even have had made a small mark was a big achievement,” says the actress, offering us a cup of coffee as we sit across her.

Soni’s house is being renovated and she has invited us to her daughter Alia’s spacious apartment in Juhu. With Alia’s cat Edward enjoying an afternoon siesta on the sofa behind us, Soni reminds us that she has a couple of films lined up, including Raazi, where she shares screen space with her actress daughter and director Sanjoy Nag’s Yours Truly, where she plays the lead. The latter also stars husband and filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt in a significant cameo.

“I have also acted in Ashwin Kumar’s film set in Kashmir, which is yet to release,” says the 61-year-old. Direction is on her mind too, with her working on something for the digital space. Quiz her if she would like to direct Alia someday and the proud mother replies, “Honestly, I’m not thinking about that right now. If she suits the role and agrees to do it, then that would be great. I’m just happy with what she is doing right now.” Excerpts from the interview...

How did you get approached for Yours Truly and what made you green-light it?

The producer contacted me and I spoke to the director on the phone as he’s based in Kolkata. He explained the story and it sounded intriguing. I was amazed to find that somebody actually wanted to make a film on a woman who is — I don’t want to use clichéd terms like ‘past her prime’ — not in her first flush of youth, but is still hoping that she will find love in this rather cynical world. I thought that was unique. The other thing is that nobody really offers you a role at this age where you’re playing the central character. You’re always playing the mother or being some prop somewhere. That was the most obvious thing that attracted me — a film to myself. I felt privileged to be even offered something like this. There was no question of me not doing it. It also took me into a completely different intellectual space again after a long time. So that was refreshing for me.

Playing central roles at this age certainly doesn’t come so often...

Yes, it doesn’t. I asked Sanjay why he was making a film like this and he replied that he wanted to attempt it as nobody else was doing it. I don’t understand why this whole section of women in society is neglected completely? It’s like you’re not supposed to exist, have feelings and are definitely not supposed to fall in love after the age of 40, so how can you be important enough to make a film about it! It’s quite shameful that we have become such a youth-oriented society that’s just not interested in people other than 25-year-olds. What a sad reflection on ourselves! The very fact that everybody is so surprised is a statement about what we are as a society today.

You’re also playing Alia’s mother in Raazi. Tell us about that.

Yes, I’m playing her mother. Firstly, it was a privilege to work with director Meghna Gulzar and be with my daughter in the same frame. Another privilege was to work with the wonderful cast and act in Raazi because it is a powerful and important movie. It says many things and I feel happy that Alia will be seen in such a human story.

You have acted on stage, in television and in movies. You never really stopped working, did you?

There was a period initially, when I did stop for a couple of years after my first child. But that was only because I was busy with my baby and I didn’t want to cut myself into 20 pieces. I used to do small roles in Mahesh’s films where I could take my child to the sets. Then I went back to television. Everybody uses the word ‘comeback’, but I never really went anywhere.

You also did a TV show Love Ka Hai Intezaar last year. How was that experience?

That was just a one-off. It’s not something I plan to do on a regular basis. But it was a lot of fun playing a character of a Rajmata and I had a blast with these young kids. I find television tiring as it has long hours.

What are the kind of roles you see yourself doing now?

There is no dearth of possibilities for me as an actress. There are so many interesting roles being written. I’m dying to be cast, but I’m not keen on doing roles that don’t have any substance. I’m quite good at comedy as I have good comic timing.