‘Parents At Home, Superstardom Stays Outside’

‘More
than
the
shooting

dabbas
which
we
take
with
us,
it’s
about
what’s
going
in
their
school

dabbas.’

Jyotika,
who
has
done
a
slew
of
well-received
Tamil
and
Hindi
films,
is
thrilled
about
her
foray
into
the
OTT
format
with

Dabba
Cartel.

“Everything
about

Dabba
Cartel
was
special.
Firstly,
the
banner,
Excel
Entertainment,
they
are
known
for
creating
some
of
the
best
Web
series,”
she
tells

Subhash
K
Jha.

“The
content
is
always
top
priority.
Varuna
is
a
character
I
haven’t
played
before.
I
think
a
common
woman
will
resonate
with
it.”

“There
was
one
more
major
incentive:
The
stalwart
actress
Shabana
Azmi.
I
don’t
think
anyone
would
think
twice
before
wanting
to
share
a
frame
with
her.
Not
only
is
she
a
brilliant
actor
but
she
is
also
such
a
magnanimous
personality.
You
feel
so
empowered
just
standing
next
to
her.

“Her
thought
process
and
the
way
she
works
even
today,
she
makes
every
effort
to
give
her
100
percent
to
the
character.

“I
saw
a
language
therapist
with
her
at
the
shoot
and
was
seeing
the
nuances,
how
dedicated
she
is
even
now.
Even
if
you
have
a
teleprompter,
she
doesn’t
refer
to
it.
She
prefers
to
mug
her
lines
and
say
it
with
emotion,”
Jyotika
says.

Jyotika
has
words
of
praise
for
another
co-actor
in

Dabba
Cartel:
“I
have
always
loved
Nimisha
Sajayan’s
work;

The
Great
Indian
Kitchen
is
one
of
my
favourite
works
of
hers.
So
sharing
screen
space
with
her,
with
my
South
buddy
actor
in
a
Hindi
Web
series,
was
extremely
special.
I
made
friends
with
Anjali
Anand
and
Shalini
Pandey
at
the
shoot
and
I
think
all
of
us
had
a
blast.

“Anjali
and
Shalini
are
such
talented
actors.
I
think
just
standing
with
all
of
them
makes
us
a
better
actor.
Growth
is
about
working
on
good
subjects,
good
characters
and
with
good
actors.”

Married
to
superstar
Suriya,
what
is
it
like
having
two
superstars
under
the
same
roof?

“We
leave
the
superstardom
outside
the
door
when
we
enter
home,
and
we
are
just
parents
of
our
kids,”
she
answers.

“Prominence
is
definitely
given
to
our
children.
More
than
the
shooting

dabbas
which
we
take
with
us,
it’s
about
what’s
going
in
their
school

dabbas.
One’s

dabba
leaves
at
6
am
with
him
to
school.
The
other
one’s

dabba
goes
at
lunchtime.
So
the
discussions
are
more
about
what
they
are
eating
and
how
we
are
packing
their
food
and
sending
it.

“So
we
are
parents
at
home,
superstardom
stays
outside.”

Which
are
Jyotika’s
favourite
films?

“I
have
experimented
with
a
lot
of
roles
but
I
feel

Mozhi
is
one
of
my
favourite
films.
I
play
a
deaf
and
mute
girl.
It’s
a
milestone
film
for
me.

“There
are
a
couple
of
films
in
my
second
innings,
like

36
Vayadhinile/
There’s
also

Raatchasi
where
I
play
the
principal
of
a
government
school.

“Ponmagal
Vandhal
was
against
child
rape,
and
I
played
a
lawyer.

“In
Hindi
films,
I
like
my
role
of
a
mom
in

Shaitaan.
I
found
her
to
be
a
very
powerful
mother.
I
also
love
my
role
in

Srikanth
where
she
is
the
wind
beneath
Srikanth’s
wings.”

Jyotika
compares
the
experience
of
working
on
OTT
with
feature
films.

“OTT
definitely
has
longer
hours
of
work
but
it’s
very
interesting.
We
shoot
about
five-eight
scenes
in
a
day.
It’s
quite
similar
to
the
South
style
of
working.

“When
I
do
women-centric
films,
which
are
under
certain
budget
lines,
we
work
in
the
same
format.
The
pace
is
great
and
it’s
always
nice
to
finish
a
film
or
a
series
quickly
because
you’re
still
in
the
essence
of
the
character.
I
feel
the
OTT
format
and
the
films
in
South
work
on
a
similar
platform.”

About
her
comparatively
meagre
output
in
Hindi,
Jyotika
says,
“I
started
my
career
with
the
Hindi
film

Doli
Saja
Ke
Rakhna,
directed
by
Priyadarshan.
Akshaye
Khanna
co-starred
in
it.
But
yes,
the
film
didn’t
do
too
well
at
the
box
office,
so
I
didn’t
see
a
lot
of
work
coming
up
in
Hindi.
In
fact,
no
work
at
all.

“Meanwhile,
I
had
signed
up
for
a
South
film,
which
happened
to
be
my
first
Tamil
film
with
my
husband
Suriya.
That
didn’t
fare
too
well
either
but
somewhere,
people
recognised
my
work
and
I
started
getting
a
lot
of
films
in
South.

“After
27
years,
suddenly,
there
is
a
wave
of
a
fusion
of
Hindi
and
South
films,
so
work
is
being
divided
amongst
actors
equally.
I
think
it’s
a
great
time
for
all
actors
coming
in
together.”

“My
journey
is
nothing
but
growth.
Whenever
I
have
thought
I
need
growth
as
an
actor,
I
have
switched
languages.
I
have
always
chosen
my
films
according
to
characters
which
are
different
from
me.
Especially
in
the
last
decade,
which
has
been
extremely
different
for
me
as
a
personality
and
which
resonate
with
the
people.

“I
was
extremely
happy
in
the
South.
I
have
done
some
of
my
best
roles
there.
I’m
not
sure
if
I
would
get
those
roles
if
I
had
worked
in
Hindi.

“I
got
married
and
stopped
working
at
28.
Then,
I
got
back
to
films
when
I
was
35.
I
did
a
lot
of
meaningful
roles
from
the
age
of
35
to
45.

“And
here
I
am
in
Hindi
now,
where
I
am
again
receiving
a
warm
welcome,
and
getting
some
fabulous
roles
to
play.
So
no
complaints.
I
am
very
happy
with
the
way
my
career
has
shaped
up.”

Jyotika
will
be
seen
next
in
Ashwini
Iyer’s
next,
co-starring
Sonakshi
Sinha.