I know Malishka Mendonsa as Mumbai ki rani on radio. The best thing about her is that whenever she comes on air, she speaks from the heart. Over the years she has had a successful stint not only on radio but also in films. Her character in Tumhari Sulu as Albeli Anjali was adorable and now with her new short film Parde Mein Rehne Do, Malishka has again won hearts of the audience. In an exclusive interview with Team MissMalini, Malishka talks about her thoughts when she was offered the role, her dream of becoming an actor, working with a female director, and lots more.
Before going further, here’s a look at the promo of Parde Mein Rehne Do:
Excerpts from the interview:
The first thought that came into her mind when the subject of Parde Mein Rehne Do was offered, she said…
Acting has been my dream forever. From the time I was a child, I was always into drama, dancing, singing, and college plays, so the dream was always to be an actor. Sometimes you think where you will fit as society has always created a certain image of an actor. If you are like this, only then you can become an actor, else you will get the role of the heroine’s friend or the character of the hero’s sister. With the advent of OTT there are more characters that have come up for all kinds of talented people. Real people are getting opportunities, so I was like let’s do this.
She further added,
During the auditions, we had a mother-daughter scene, it was powerful. A lot of women will relate to that because mother daughter relationships are like that, some sweet and sour moments, some love. My only impression was that it’s a little scary, as the role is deglam and in real life, I am not like that. At least not any more with the advent of digital. Earlier we used to wake up, go to work on radio, no makeup, now stars are coming to the studio, we are also doing digital stuff. Over the past so many years my nails are perfectly done, I am always wearing designer clothes, etc. All of this is happening, so it was a tough one.
Kuhu is such a strong character, she makes a decision, irrespective of the outcome. I thought her character was amazing, very different from who I am in real life, which is another plus point. By playing this character I can show the audience as a performer what I can do.
Malishka also shares about the scene where her character clicks a picture and then deletes it after watching an influencer talking about body positivity. She said…
When I read about the scene I was mortified. So, there are a lot of points this film makes. That’s why it is a beautiful story, so much packaging of so many things. The character has touched many women as well as men. So many people who have interviewed me have told me their connection with the characters, I am hoping the audiences will also connect with it.
Malishka also played an RJ in Tumhari Sulu helmed by Suresh Triveni. And in this film, on bringing out the best from her character by director Heena D’Souza, she shared…
I look at Tumhari Sulu as Vidya’s moment where she plays a common woman. It was a fabulous film. I also feel that a male director, who is doing a female related story already knows how the story needs to be treated. Even with a film like Tumhari Sulu, Suresh Triveni did a fabulous job. He has got a sharp eye for detail, Vidya is a tremendous actor and it was a commercial film on a big screen. At a mass level you will love it irrespective of your strata. It’s a wonderful women’s story.
For Parde Mein Rehne Do, one of the male directors said that if I would have been this film’s director, I would have made you cry more. I didn’t understand it at the beginning. I thought about it and said but it was not needed. That is a difference, a woman director has a different perspective on the subject because she has lived it. Even my director Heena D’Souza, she is fabulous and of course she has lived through it. As a woman, she is telling a woman’s story.She gave me a lot of freedom to portray it. That gaze is different from how a woman reacts to what a man says or how she deals with a mother. A woman telling a woman’s story has a different reality. I think a female director brings a little more authenticity to the subject and the treatment of a film.
On the lessons learnt after being a part of this project, Malishka said…
Acting is different from being on a radio. It is intimidating when you are in front of the camera. There are hundreds of people on the floor. Your day is scheduled on the number of takes you give. You have to remember your lines and you have to remember where you are facing, what you are looking at. After Tumhari Sulu, some people loved the character but there were some who said you played yourself, that’s what made me ask myself am I really an actor. I want people to tell the biggest lessons I have learnt to not hold yourself back.
There is a scar on Kuhu’s face, even if it wasn’t there she might have been the same person. She anyway has self worth. To become that person, you need to have tremendous self confidence which is also a growth process. The world will do enough to trip you up but then you do have your own insecurities. I have got the best compliments for playing this role and I am really thankful. I am very proud to present this movie to people in the industry.
On two things that the short film focuses on….
The film shows you two things, a societal pressure to look a certain way whether it is on a dating app or whether you have an ice-gola with your husband. The pressure that social media puts on you, it’s very today’s film. The second is how much we add to that. While growing up I was getting a lot of attention which was scary, I used to get teased. And now I walk with confidence. That comes unfortunately with age, time, So one thing is a society’s pressure and one thing is the pressure Kuhu puts on herself. Even if she wanted to remove the scar, it could have been fine as well. I think the intent is the most important. Are you doing it because you want to impress a man, or are you doing it because you are feeling weird. I think I have done a decent job in this short film. Many people, just in the name of fun, make a mockery out of someone’s self esteem. People will call you fat on your face, but they are not able to detect if you are depressed or what is going inside you.
A message that she wants to give to a 15 year old Malishka, she said…
I would tell her to just be yourself, you are going to go places to change the whole world and the world of many others. I would say honey, you are a proud and beautiful woman. I don’t know if curls are a bad thing but I am so proud of them. Whatever people say nowadays about curly hair being not good in the corporate world. I say that it is just a perception.
You can watch Parde Mein Rehne Do on Amazon Mini TV