| Sakshi Tanwar on Coffee House |
Like most actors whose long running shows on television have suddenly wrapped up, Sakshi Tanwar too feels an emptiness as she gets used to not shooting daily with her 'family'. And with the show's run ending after eight years, the actress took time off to bond with her family and friends, spend time with her parents and even learn the ropes at a television production house. She followed the newer TV shows airing and especially liked Ballika Vadhu and Bandini. But perhaps what kept her busiest was shooting for her film Coffee House, directed by Gurbir Singh. We caught up with the resourceful actress to find out more about the film, getting used to life without Kahaani and her experience behind the cameras. |
In the beginning, it felt strange that the show was over. I started working on Kahaani as soon as I came to Mumbai and suddenly, eight years have passed without me even realising. My association with Mumbai is as old as my association with the show. The whole cast and crew of Kahaani was my support system. They took care of me and made me comfortable. My family was not here at that time but the Kahaani team made me feel secure. I am in touch with most of them and we meet up occasionally. When Kahaani wrapped up there was a vacuum; I didn't know what to do. I decided to take a break and went to the US and the UK for a month. I have relatives there and usually, when I visit them, I am always in a rush to come back. But this time there was no pressure and I did not have to cut short my holiday.
When I got back, my parents, who live in Rajasthan, told me that it has been a while since I spent time with them them so I visited them for a month. In that time, I got over the habit of working everyday and by the time I was back in Mumbai, everything had settled down.
No, there was this friend of mine who started her production house. She was in a need of a helping hand and I was not in the mood to get back to the daily shooting routine so I told her that I would help. I learnt everything about production and I am still learning; from scripting to all the dirty work that goes into making a show to maintaining continuity. Whether it was the AD's job or the script assistant's, I just wanted to do everything. I realised that there are lots of things that go into making a show; not just the actors in front of the camera. Actors walk away with all the credit. For three months I was busy with concept meetings, editing, casting and everything. This was for the fictional show Samman that airs on DD and my friend was gracious enough to put my name in the credits as a creative consultant.
Did you write any of the show's episodes?
I did suggest a few ideas, out of which some were accepted and some rejected. Mostly, I was part of the creative process. I was also inspired by Kahaani for some of my ideas for the show.
Do you plan to start your own production house?
Right now, I don't think that I am ready to take up creative work or start my own production house. Scripting does excite me but I think that I have lots to do as an actor first. I want to be known as an actor; if something happens along with it, then so be it.
Tell us about the film Coffee House.
I was still doing Kahaani when this film was offered to me. It was in December 2007, I got a call from Gurbirji (Gurbir Singh, director). He told me he was making his first Hindi film and he wanted me to be a part of it. I instantly said yes. Every time I decide to do something, I follow my instinc
What is your character all about?
I play Kavita, the main protagonist Kamal's (Ashutosh Rana) wife. They are a regular couple and have very strong ideologies. But they both like to stick to their own ideologies and have differences of opinion. Kamal's character is rigid, while she is more flexible. She runs a newspaper and he is from the theatre industry. She tries to give him a more balanced view on life.
What is the connection between the title of the film and the story?
I do not know but in places like Delhi, coffee house culture is very popular. I used to go there regularly during my college days. Mostly, there are these Government-run coffee houses where you get dosa, idli and all with chai at very reasonable rates. We were a group of about 12 girls who used to meet up. We would go there to celebrate birthdays as our parents had certain boundaries set for us and this was an ideal place to
What happens at these coffee houses is that different kinds of people visit. My friends and I would never discuss social issues at the time; we were always busy in our faltu ka baatein. But there are people who come there after office, for important meetings. So a lot of important issues are discussed. There are older people who are retired, who want to get away from their routine and there are the youth too, who do not have much money to spend but want to hang out. So the film is set in a coffee house and deals with different stories.
I will accept any good role, whether film, serial or street play. But since I can now afford to sit back and choose, I would like to do work which challenges me. It is important to break out of your comfort zone. I am happy that the divide between films and TV is reducing and TV actors are getting a chance to perform. I did reject a lot of offers, not because they were not good, but because I wanted to take a break. I have recently finished shooting for another film, a satirical comedy, but I cannot reveal anything about it. 😃 (YAY for us fans!!!!)
