‘I Didn’t Work Because Of Lack of Good Offers’

‘It’s
important
to
keep
doing
your
work.
Do
what
you
understand
and
don’t
expect
much.’

We
first
met

Patralekhaa
in

CityLights,
where
she
played
wife
to
Rajkummar
Rao.

Today,
they
make
up
one
of
the
talented
couples
working
in
Bollywood.

Comparisons
may
be
inevitable
but
Patralekhaa
insists
her
journey
is
different
from
her
husband’s.

After
a
series
of
underwhelming
projects
since
her
2014
debut,
the
actor
seem
to
be
re-shaping
her
career
as
seen
from
last
year’s
terrific
show

IC
814:
The
Kandahar
Hijack.

The
next
is
Ananth
Mahadevan’s
period
drama

Phule
in
which
she
plays
the
historical
figure
Savitribai
Phule.

“When
you
are
playing
like
such
powerful
characters
and
you’re
doing
this
day
in
and
day
out,
you
derive
a
lot
of
strength
from
them,”
Patralekhaa
tells

Mayur
Sanap/Rediff.

What
are
your
favourite
movies
with
strong
female
characters,
not
necessarily
historical
or
biopics?

I
like

Sadma
a
lot.

There
are
many
movies
but

Sadma
is
one
of
the
movies
I
can
recall
well.

How
much
did
you
know
about
Savitribai
Phule
before
this
project
came
to
you?

She
and
Jyotiba
Phule
really
worked
for
the
well
being
of
society.

There’s
so
written
material
available
on
the
internet,
so
many
books
written
by
them,
about
them.

They
were
such
a
prominent
figure.

We
haven’t
discovered
anything
new
as
such.

When
you
play
such
powerful
characters,
do
their
character
traits
rub
off
on
you?

I
am
not
sure
about
that.
But
does
it
empower
me
as
a
human
being?
Of
course,
it
does.

When
you’re
playing
like
such
powerful
characters
and
you’re
doing
this
day
in
and
day
out,
you
derive
a
lot
of
strength
from
them.

This
film
has
a
period
setting
but
we
live
in
modern
times,
constantly
surrounded
by
mobile
phones
and
gadgets.
What
shift
happens
when
you
go
on
sets?

It
is
important
to
keep
your
phone
away.

It’s
a
very
organic
way
actually
because
you
are
trying
to
live
a
life
and
play
a
character
that
isn’t
today’s
and
a
phone
just
breaks
that
wall.

Having
said
that,
it’s
not
like
I
didn’t
use
my
phone.
My
phone
was
with
me
but
I
used
it
much
lesser.

I
think
everybody
on
the
set
used
it
much
lesser.

Is
there
any
ritual
that
you
followed
to
play
this
character?
Like,
some
actors
listen
to
particular
songs
to
get
into
that
zone.

What
really
helped
me
about
this
character
was
that
we
were
cut
off
from
everything.

We
were
shooting
in
Bhor,
in
the
interiors
of
Maharashtra.

The
internet
was
very
slow,
we
couldn’t
get
network
on
phones.

That
place
really
helped
me
to
be
secluded
in
my
mind.

What
is
one
character
trait
of
Savitribai
that
you
have
as
well?

She
never
gives
up.
I
never
give
up.

They
were
fearless
people
in
the
way
they
lived
their
life.

What
is
one
moment
from

Phule
that
will
always
stay
with
you?

There’s
so
many
moments
because
they
lived
such
a
humongous,
giant
of
a
life.

They
were
always
doing
something
or
the
other.

In
one
instance,
cow
dung
gets
thrown
at
Savitri
and
she
comes
home
and
tells
Jyotiba
about
it.
That
was
a
very
powerful
moment
for
me.

There’s
another
moment
where
Jyotibha
is
telling
people
from
the
Satyashodak
Samaj
that
this
is
the
end
of
his
life
and
Savitri
will
take
over
the
reins.

I
didn’t
have
anything
to
say
but
just
listening
to
Pratik
kind
of
shifted
something.

That
was
a
very
powerful
moment.

Despite
their
equal
contribution
to
society,
the
world
bestowed
the
title
of
Mahatma
only
on
Jyotiba.
Do
you
think
Savitribai
deserved
the
title
too?

For
sure.
When
I
was
reading
the
scene,
I
was
like,
but
she
was
an
equal
partner
with
him,
how
come
it
wasn’t
given
to
her?

Even
Jyotiba
felt
a
certain
way
about
her
not
getting
the
title
of
Mahatma.

But
it
was
just
so
nice
that
Savitri
kind
of
maneuvers
him
out
of
it.
But
yes,
I
feel
she
deserved
the
title.

Having
seen
these
characters
up
close
and
having
studied
them,
what
is
the
one
thing
about
Savitribai
and
Jyotiba’s
partnership
that
you
would
like
to
imbibe
in
your
own
marriage?

There
are
so
many
things.

They
thought
they
were
equal.

They
were
together
in
achieving
and
uplifting
society,
reforming
society,
and
nobody
tried
taking
away
the
credit.

Like
you
mentioned,
she
was
not
given
the
title
of
Mahatma
and
Jyotiba
did
feel
bad
about
it.

He
did
try
to
make
her
understand
that
that
wasn’t
right
because
she
did
the
work
equally.
But
their
partnership
was
so
strong.
They
had
one
vision
for
society
and
worked
towards
it.

You
made
your
debut
in
2014
with

CityLights.
You
haven’t
done
too
many
films
in
all
these
years.
Was
it
because
of
lack
of
good
offers?

It
was
obviously
because
of
lack
of
good
offers.

It’s
important
to
keep
doing
your
work.
Do
what
you
understand
and
don’t
expect
much.

The
last
couple
of
years
have
been
good
for
you
with

IC
814:
The
Kandahar
Hijack
and
now

Phule.

Gulkanda
Tales
with
Raj
&
DK
is
coming
up
next.
Do
you
feel
you
are
in
the
best
phase
of
your
career?

No,
it’s
going
to
be
better.

I
want
to
be
a
part
of
really
interesting
scripts
and
good
directors
and
producers.

Does
it
irritate
you
when
people
compare
your
journey
with
your
Rajkummar’s?

Not
really.
I
mean,
it’s
their
look
out.

You
can’t
compare
apples
and
oranges,
both
are
so
different.

In
one
of
your
interviews,
you
mentioned
how
you
wanted
to
run
away
from
Mumbai
because
you
didn’t
feel
like
belonging
here.
How
has
your
equation
evolved
with
the
city?

I
love
the
city.
I
don’t
think
I
can
live
anywhere
else.

Given
a
choice
between
Shillong,
your
birth
place,
and
Mumbai,
what
would
you
prefer?

Mumbai,
any
day.

WATCH
The
Full
Patralekhaa
Interview
Here: