Raveena Tandon: Comeback star now plays prime minister in 'KGF Chapter 2'

Raveena Tandon holds her own in industry that punishes older female actors

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Raveena Tandon, the fiery, sexy and chiseled-nose actor from the 1990s whose steamy song—‘Tip, tip barsa paani’—set the screen on fire, completed 30 years in Bollywood last year. Tandon said she loathes the term ‘Bollywood’. “We are quite done with it. I don’t recognise Bollywood as the way the media coins the term. For me, it is no longer Mumbai-centric. Rather, a pan-India integrated Hindi film industry, and in that sense a lot has changed over the years,” said Tandon to THE WEEK two days before the release of KGF 2, which has Yash playing the lead role as Rocky bhai. The film also features Tandon and Srinidhi Shetty in crucial roles. Based on Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) and the notorious gold mafia, the film will have Tandon essaying the role of prime minister Ramika Sen—the politician who orders Rocky’s execution, a role she was not sure of until the last minute, and especially since her role in part one did not materialise. “It was a wait and watch situation… I wanted to see how the character develops as the role had to be substantial. Given the kind of success that part one generated, I knew I had to do part two.”

I believe in quality. I would rather wait it out and do one film at a time, because I have been there—doing 30 films at one go. I feel lucky and blessed that I can sit back and choose.

KGF 2 is significant for two reasons: one, it is Tandon’s second Kannada film after Upendra (1999), and two, it marks her first big-screen outing after her 2017 release, Shab.

In an ever-changing industry—known to be unforgivingly punishing to female actors once they cross their prime—Tandon held her own. After revelling in the limelight for over a decade and delivering some of the biggest hits back to back—Mohra, Andaz Apna Apna, Dulhe Raja, Laadla, Dilwale, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan—Tandon decided to step back and enjoy her married life with businessman husband Anil Thadani. She has four children, including two adopted daughters.

There was a time when Tandon was busy doing 30 films back to back, with six films a day. And then there were hiatuses followed by intermittent comebacks. Did she not fear falling behind in the race? There is a long pause. She is perturbed by the question and one can sense anger. “No, I don’t think so. Do you think?” she said, “Looking back, I was doing what I wanted to do at each stage of my life. I’m very content. In the 1990s I was in the race, but today I am very happy the way things have panned out because I don’t know what more I would want than being associated with Aranyak and KGF. I don’t know what else is a career-defining moment for anyone [than this] with such an extensive body of work.”

Aranyak (2021) was Tandon’s OTT debut. The eight-episode thriller—an engrossing whodunit from the Sippy stable—spelled karmic serendipity for the actor. Back in 1991, her first film Patthar Ke Phool was with Sippy Films.

Aranyak became a significant turning point in Tandon’s career as it was the canvas she needed to prove her mettle as a character-actor. In the character of a police officer whose methods of investigation are old-school but effective, Tandon essayed one of her “most challenging” roles as Kasturi Dogra, thereby shedding off the haughtiness associated with stars. Yet, Aranyak was more of a fluke than a planned undertaking. “It was a gamble because a lot of shows that came to me earlier, and to which I said no, were successful. And I was like, I hope I don’t regret this decision of not saying yes to them and going with Aranyak.”

The number of projects have now come down for Tandon, but it has also helped her focus. “I believe in quality. I would rather wait it out and do one film at a time, because I have been there—doing 30 films at one go. Now, I feel lucky and blessed that I can sit back and choose.”

Tandon is ready to experiment like never before. “I want to do some fun comedy now. And I really wish I also get the opportunity to work on a big budget period drama film of the Sanjay Leela Bhansali-type,” she said.

Tandon said she had started getting bored of doing the same run-of-the-mill kind of films and stories. “I wanted something different in which I could add and incorporate a few things in the character. And I intentionally started to make the shift. For me, the character I am playing and the director are two of the most important things,” said Tandon. She won the national award way back in 2001 for Daman—a film on marital violence. Over the years, Tandon has gone from mini-skirt strutting girlfriend to a demure Bihari housewife, from a high-society brat to a robust cop, among others. And as she awaits, Tandon continues to be a doting mother to her four children—daughter Rasha, son Ranbir, and her two adopted children—Pooja and Chhaya.

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