Will Renuka Shahane Enter Politics?

‘On
the
governmental
level,
we
are
saying
all
the
right
things,
like

beti
bachao,
beti
padhao.’
‘Just
giving
lip
service
is
not
enough,
the
general
mindset
has
to
change.’

There’s
something
about
that
smile
that
makes
you
fall
in
love
with
her
instantly
on
screen.

But
there’s
more
to
her
than
just
that
million-dollar
smile.

Renuka
Shahane
has
played
so
many
different
and
layered
characters,
investing
them
with
a
certain
maturity,
emotional
intensity
and
dignity.

Her
latest
avatar,
Pushplata
Yadav
in
the
Amazon
Prime
Video
series

Dupahiya,
is
a
sweet
village
politician
with
a
strong
spine.

Speaking
about
this
much-loved
character,
Renuka
tells



Rediff.com
Senior
Contributor

Roshmila
Bhattacharya
that
she
can’t
see
herself
in
politics:
“I
have
been
governed
by
strong
principles
and
don’t
want
to
sacrifice
them
by
becoming
a
spokesperson
for
somebody
making
random
misogynous
statements.”

Dupahiya
is
such
a
refreshing
series.
What
was
your
first
reaction
when
you
read
the
script?

It
was
refreshing
for
me
too
because
there
was
not
a
single

gaali
(abuse),
which
is
rare
to
come
across
these
days.

The
makers
had
initially
sent
me
the
character
profile
and
I
liked
Pushplata
Yadav’s
trajectory.

She
represents
a
small
percentage
of
people
in
politics
at
the
grassroot
level.
Wherever
you
have
a
power
structure,
there
are
forces
pushing
and
pulling
you
into
doing
things
which
are
not
exactly
honest.
But
Pushplata
carries
a
lot
of
integrity.

She
is
trying
to
make
a
space
for
herself
in
a
world
of
men,
after
inheriting
the
responsibility
of
a
small
village
in
Bihar
following
the
demise
of
her
husband.

She
genuinely
wants
to
improve
Dhadakpur
and
keep
it
crime-free
while
aspiring
to
be
an
MLA
herself.

She
also
plays
a
part
in
her
daughter’s
life.
It’s
not
always
a
smooth
relationship
but
the
bond
is
strong
and
she
supports
Nirmal
at
every
step.

There
are
a
lot
of
traits
in
Pushplata
that
I
really
liked,
but
I
felt
I
must
read
the
script
first.

Sometimes,
even
when
strong
on
paper,
a
character
can
end
up
not
integral
to
the
narrative.

They
sent
me
the
first
few
episodes
and
I
was
hooked
by
the
writing.
Avinash
(Dwivedi)
and
Chirag
(Garg)
are
so
talented!

In
case
you
were
offered
a
ticket,
would
you
stand
for
elections?

(Laughing
uproariously)
No,
I
don’t
see
myself
in
politics,
ever.

The
moment
you
become
a
part
of
a
party,
you
have
to,
very
often,
support
certain
things
which
may
not
be
in
line
with
your
values.

I
have
been
governed
by
strong
principles
and
don’t
want
to
sacrifice
them
by
becoming
a
spokesperson
for
somebody
making
random
misogynous
statements.

Also,
I
feel
that
as
a
citizen,
you
are
bigger
than
any
party.

You
know
what
is
good
for
the
country
and
can
be
truly
objective,
bash
or
appreciate
anything
across
party
lines.

After
marrying
Ashutosh
Rana,
you
have
seen
life
in
the
rural
interiors
from
up
close.
If
you
had
a
chance
to
set
something
right,
what
would
it
be?

Well,
I
feel
there
is
still
a
marked
discrepancy
between
genders,
particularly
in
rural
India.

You
can’t
even
imagine
the
work
women
put
in,
working
in
the
fields
while
also
doing
the
housework
and
raising
children
without
any
help.

It
is
just
too
much
work
and
the
difference
between
men
and
women
is
stark.

On
the
governmental
level,
we
are
saying
all
the
right
things,
like

beti
bachao,
beti
padhao.

Yet,
a
high
court
judge
in
Prayagraj,
who
is
highly
educated,
has
studied
the
Constitution
and
its
laws,
says
breaking
the

naada
of
a
pyjama
or
touching
the
breasts
of
a
minor
girl
is


not
rape.

Just
giving
lip
service
is
not
enough,
the
general
mindset
has
to
change.

We
are
getting
there,
slowly
and
steadily,
but
along
the
way,
the
dreams
of
several
generations
of
women
have
been
stifled.

You’ve
been
married
for
almost
24
years.
Any
positive
changes
that
make
you
happy?

Well,
at
least
within
our
family,
certain
structures
which
were
very
rigid
earlier,
have
eased.

Most
of
my

jethanis
(elder
sisters-in-law)
are
mothers-in-law
now
and
the
way
they
treat
their
daughters-in-law
is
completely
different.

It
is
a
very
open
atmosphere
with
the

bahus
(daughters-in-law)
choosing
the
way
they
want
to
be
without
it
being
imposed
on
them.

That,
I
think,
is
a
positive
change.

But
I
have
to
admit
that
our
family
is
very
educated
and
modern
in
its
thinking.

Women
have
always
had
a
voice
and
a
say,
so
perhaps
it
is
not
representative
of
the
norm
though
I
see
an
easing
out
of
a
certain
rigidity
viz-a-viz
the
men
in
the
next
generation.

We
have
more
working
daughters-in-law
now.

I
see
the
men
in
our
family
sharing
responsibilities
at
home.

Since
the
family
is
our
foundation,
when
changes
happen
within
it,
the
changes
are
long-lasting.

An
important
issue
that
the
series
highlighted
without
preaching
is
dowry.
We
may
well
argue
that

daheej
has
been
abolished,
but
it
exists,
and
not
just
in
the
rural
interiors.

Of
course,
it
does.

I
have
heard
that
IAS
officers
even
have
a
kind
of
a
list.

In
fact,
this
was
raised
in
an
earlier
series,

Made
In
Heaven,
where
even
though
it’s
an
equal
match,
the
parents
of
the
groom
ask
for
a
hefty
dowry.

When
the
bride
objects,
he
tells
her
casually,
‘Arrey,
but
it
is
meant
for
both
of
us
and
not
me
alone.’

He
doesn’t
even
realise
what
an
imposition
his
demands
are
on
the
girl’s
parents.

Eventually,
the
bride
walks
out,
saying
she
doesn’t
want
to
be
a
part
of
this
practice,
taking
the
boy
and
his
family
by
surprise.

Dowry
demands
are
made
so
naturally
that
it
is
usually
taken
for
granted
that
the
parents
of
the
girl
have
to
pay
up
because
they
are
lesser.

There
is
no
fighting
back
which
is
what
is
underlined
in

Dupahiya.

The
resolution
at
the
end
of
the
series
is
satisfying.

Yes,
that
is
real
change
because
the
people
of
Dhadakpur
were
committing
a
crime
all
these
years
without
even
realising
that
giving
and
taking
dowry
is
a
crime.

So
the
village
was
never
crime-free
for
25
years.

The
resolution
is
a
reflection
that
things
are
changing
with
Pushplata
as
the
driving
force.

(Smiles)
I’m
glad
the
resolution
was
made
by
a
woman.

Normally
when
we
think
of
dowry,
it’s
money
and
jewellery
that
comes
to
mind,
but
in
this
case,
it
was
a
motorbike.

It’s
a
status
symbol
and
gives
a
man
a
macho
feeling
to
be
sitting
astride
a
Bullet.

(Chuckles)
It
makes
for
a
very
powerful
entry
and
has
been
used
very
effectively
in
the
series.

When
you
look
back
on
your
first
meeting
with
your
husband,
what
do
you
remember?

Well,
back
then,
we
were
just
starting
our
journey
together,
and
there
were
so
many
doubts
because
we
came
from
two
very
different
cultures.

Marriage
was
anyway
a
huge
gamble
and
you
have
to
keep
working
on
it
to
make
it
work.

In
our
case,
it
was
a
bigger
risk,
but
fortunately,
it
paid
off.

I
never
thought
that
over
the
years,
we
would
get
so
comfortable
that
being
together
would
become
a
good
habit.

We
are
blessed
that
we
not
only
have
each
other,
but
also
two
lovely
children.

It
is
a
close-knit
family
that
makes
us
believe
we
can
take
on
the
world.

If
you
have
a
strong
and
secure
relationship
at
home,
you
can
face
all
the
challenges
from
outside.

 

In
a
post,
you
tell
your
husband
in
jest
that
you
never
thought
the
marriage
would
last
even
two
months.

Actually,
it
was
friends
of
ours
who
knew
us
well
and
secretly
thought
so
because
we
are
so
different.

We
ourselves
took
the
vows
wanting
the
relationship
to
last.

(Laughs)
Our
respective
families
were
a
bit,
I
won’t
say
sceptical,
but
definitely
hoping
for
the
best.

When
you
were
on
your
way
to
this
little
hamlet
in
Madhya
Pradesh
to
get
married…

It
was
scary,
very
scary!

Your
mother,
writer,
journalist,
translator
and
critic
Shanta
Gokhale…

(Cuts
in
with
another
laugh)
Was
even
more
scared.

Today,
being
a
mother
myself,
I
know
how
much
mothers
worry
for
their
children
because
we
want
the
best
for
them
at
all
possible
times.

So,
those
doubts
were
understandable
now.

Not
only
was
their
culture
so
different
from
ours,
they
were
also
a
large,
joint
family.

The
only
thing
that
was
reassuring
and
made
her
hopeful
was
that
despite
having
so
many
different
members,
it
is
a
loving,
caring,
close-knit
family
with
mutual
respect
for
each
other.

Dushman
and

Sunghursh
had
been
released
by
then,
right?

Yes.

So
how
did
your
family
feel
about
you
marrying
this
‘bad
man’?

To
tell
you
frankly,
they
hadn’t
seen
either
film.

They
are
not
huge
film
buffs,
they
are
more
into
alternate
cinema
and
theatre.

In
fact,
I
hadn’t
seen

Dushman
myself
but
I
had
seen

Sunghursh,
so
I
knew
what
I
was
getting
into.

I
also
knew
for
a
fact
that
this
was
acting
and
he
is
not
like
that
in
real
life
which
many
find
hard
to
believe
because
Ranaji
is
such
a
fabulous
actor.

(Laughing)
He
can
create
horror
on
screen
without
being
a
horror
himself.

In
the
early
years
of
marriage,
is
there
anything
your
husband
did

jo
dil
ko
chhoo
liya
(melted
your
heart)?

One
thing
we
both
decided
was
that
I
should
forge
my
own
relationships
within
the
family
without
him
interfering.

There
are
some
members
one
is
close
to
and
others
we
don’t
care
for
which
is
okay.

But
we
both
agreed
that
even
if
there
were
some
whom
I
wasn’t
too
fond
of,
he
wouldn’t
have
to
fall
in
line,
and
because
of
that,
I
got
to
really
know
and
understand
my
family
without
him
reminding
me
of
his
relationships
with
them.

We
may
have
different
favourites,
and
by
default,
I
may
be
closer
to
the
women
with
whom
I
share
so
much.

I
don’t
have
a
sister
of
my
own
but
there
is
so
much
I
share
with
my

jethanis.

(Chuckles)
Even
Ranaji‘s
brothers
would
rather
tell
me
certain
things,
maybe
because
I
am
easier
to
deal
with,
and
this
comes
from
having
the
freedom
to
do
things
my
way
without
anything
being
forced
on
me.

My
mother
had
wanted
a
smooth
journey
for
me
and
marriage
is
anything
but
smooth.

You
have
to
consciously
make
certain
changes,
invest
a
lot
of
time
and
effort
in
it.

(With
a
big
smile)
But
the
pay-off
too
is
huge!