Smita Patil's tree has grown

Sonali Kulkarni was three when she first met Smita Patil. The actress talks to Yogesh Pawar about acting with Patil's recurring co-star Naseeruddin Shah

A three-year-old waited her turn with her mom to help plant a tree with the late actress Smita Patil as chief guest at her school event 41 years ago. As their hands touched while planting the Ashoka tree, a legacy seemed to pass on. "I just feel blessed," says actor Sonali Kulkarni whose 'Kachcha Limboo' has just bagged the National Award. We are meeting to discuss her imminent "comeback in Hindi" 'Hope Aur Hum' (HAH). "My comebacks have been written about so many times that I simply don't now when I'll finally arrive," she laughs. "Up until now my position/credit was the last thing on my mind. I was okay without credit as long as I did good work," she says and adds, "Over the last few years, I've become very conscious of this. Why give away credit to others always? Why shy away when credit is due to me?" Earlier, she attributed her good work in a film or a play to a good script or director, etc, but now she says, "It took me a long time to appreciate my role in a good film and begin acknowledging myself."

And the change has done wonders. "As an actor, mother and wife, I feel more fulfilled now. It is as if all my passion and energy is coming back manifold."

Most Marathi actors do theatre, start doing Marathi films and then get a break in Hindi and forget everything else. "I've bucked that trend," she says. "I began with a Hindi film 'Cheluvi' with Girish Karnad, then a Tamil film titled 'May Madham' and only then began working in Marathi, my mother tongue. I've since done films in Italian, English, Gujarati and Telugu too. The only criterion I had was to pursue work that will help me grow," she says. She brings up the instance of 'Dil Chahta Hai'. "Those casting for Hindi don't like Marathi actors who have stage shows and have to leave mid-shoot. But in DCH, Zoya Akhtar who was chief assistant director and casting director would pointedly remind everyone to work their schedules around mine because I had a play to perform. I get choked up even now when I think of this."

A still from Sonali Kulkarni’s upcoming film Hope of Hum

Back to HAH, we ask what working with Naseeruddin Shah was like. "I've been in 'BBD', 'Deool' and 'Kolkata Junction' before but never shared screen space with him. With HAH, I was sold on the script itself. But when I heard that Naseer Sir is playing the lead, I was over the moon! Forget working with and proving my mettle, there are few actors who you want to just be with. Both he and Ratna (Pathak-Shah) ma'am are just fabulous. I've always insisted that I'm willing to take any task backstage whether ironing clothes or sweeping the stage. And even if it means dropping a film I'm doing it'll add value for me. Their love for literature, language and acting as a craft makes it really special. It's amazing how light and pithy Sir kept it, never once throwing his weight around despite his seniority."

Another connect between Shah and Kulkarni could be their mutual closeness to late Pt Satyadev Dubey, Kulkarni's mentor who was also Shah's friend and associate. "DubeyJi gave me confidence and self esteem when I was a bundle of complexes ("I'm dark. My nose is imperfect and I have a strange voice.") that I had coming from a lower middle-class Pune background. DubeyJi taught me to forget it all and just act. This set me free."

Kulkarni's 'The Good Road' was India's entry to the Oscars three years ago. She's worked with legends like Shriram Lagoo and Mammooty but carries it lightly on her shoulders. At the height of adulation after DCH when she once met activist Medha Patkar and hugged her, the activist had asked her who she was. "I told her I was a tree planted by Smita Patil."