'Was written off': Soni Razdan on career struggles after marriage
What's the story
Veteran actor Soni Razdan recently opened up about a phase in her career when she struggled to find substantial film roles after her marriage. This led her to seek consistent work in television. Razdan, who made her debut in a supporting role in 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981), has since starred in acclaimed films such as Shyam Benegal's Mandi and Trikal, Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Khamosh and Mahesh Bhatt's Saaransh. She married Bhatt in 1986.
Career challenges
She was 'written off' post her marriage
Speaking to PTI, the 69-year-old actor said, "I was sort of written off, people didn't bother about me at all. Then I came back."
She added that she occasionally worked in films directed by her husband, such as Daddy and Sadak.
"In fact, Siddharth P Malhotra's father was the one whose company gave me work consistently. So I was shooting every month but not for more than eight or 10 days."
Career revival
Her approach to acting has changed over the years
Razdan revealed that television eventually helped her revive her acting career. She appeared in shows like Junoon and Saahil in the 1990s.
"That (TV) was what gave me the strength to come back into acting. Then after that, things followed on from there," she said.
"I feel free now; I've shaken off a lot of baggage of what I had when I was younger. Also, it doesn't matter so much how you look."
Industry insights
On parallel cinema and its impact
Razdan also reminisced about the parallel cinema movement of the 1980s.
"They (Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi) set a trend at the time with alternative cinema that grew in those days... They got great roles. Everybody wasn't as fortunate."
In another conversation with Times Now, she also slammed the patriarchal mindset that deemed women less desirable once they were in relationships.
"It was patriarchal. It's all about the male gaze...and some skewed notion of what a desirable woman actually is."
Future endeavors
She's currently working on a film she plans to direct
Razdan, who currently stars in the Netflix series Shaque, also revealed that she is working on a film that she plans to direct.
"I'm planning to direct something, and I'm working on it. We unfortunately can't talk about it. It's taking a long time to put together because it's quite complex. I'm not going to act in it," she said.
Meanwhile, Shaque also stars Parineeti Chopra, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Harleen Sethi, Jennifer Winget, and Sumeet Vyas, among others.