It’s a busy life for Tillotama Shome, but that’s how it goes in Bollywood, isn’t it? The actress reflected on a time when she had to follow a packed schedule, shooting for two projects back-to-back – Paatal Lok and Baksho Bondi.
"I shot for Baksho Bondi three days after I wrapped Paatal Lok. So, I carried all the wishes of the team of Paatal Lok with me to Baksho Bondi," the 45-year-old actress shared with PTI. "Everybody on the set knew that I had to go to shoot for Baksho Bondi after Paatal Lok. It's very special for me. I shot for them back-to-back and they came out the way they did.”
Shome’s characters in both, Paatal Lok and Baksho Bondi, defy the typical portrayal of women in India, instead having a meaningful role in society. The actress expressed her happiness in portraying women who are not just “decorative”, but instead “actually have something to say and do”.
Baksho Bondi follows the story of Maya (Shome), a mother who juggles multiple jobs to support her family. When her husband, a former soldier with PTSD, goes missing and becomes a murder suspect, it throws her life into further turmoil. The film, renamed Shadowbox for the international audience, premiered at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival on February 16.
Baksho Bondi was helmed by Tanushree Das and Saumyananda Sahi in their directorial debut. When asked what made her trust first-time filmmakers, Shome explained, "You can have wonderful scripts written by extremely dysfunctional people and I really was hoping against hope that that was not the case. I was happy to be proven right. And for that illusion in my heart to survive... This work affected me so deeply because the people were going to play an important part in my life."
Paatal Lok Season 2 was released on January 17 and is available to view on Amazon Prime Video.