New Delhi, Team Digital. Family… is not just a word, it is an emotion and connection with which we all remain connected throughout our lives. While maintaining the small and big relationships of the family, we get so attached to them that even if we want to, we cannot separate them. The film ‘Gulmohar’ is bringing some of the same emotion and message. Directed by Rahul V Chittela, this film is based on the story of family relationships. In which along with Sharmila Tagore, Manoj Bajpayee, Suraj Sharma, Simran, Kaveri Seth and Amol Palekar etc. will be seen playing important roles. Please tell that Sharmila Tagore is going to return to the screen after almost 13 years in this family drama film. Fans are eager to see Sharmila on the big screen in this film. In today’s time, this film presents the story of family conflicts on the screen in the best way. ‘Gulmohar’ will release on March 3, 2023 on the OTT platform Disney Plus Hotstar. On this special occasion, the starcast of the film had a very special conversation with Punjab Kesari / Navodaya Times, which is presented here-
( Sharmila Tagore)
Question- You are going to debut on OTT through Gulmohar, how are you feeling on this?
answer- I am enjoying every moment of the film. When we started shooting for the film, at that time everything was very different and organized. There was a break after every five minutes, everything from the vanity van was well organized. Starting the shoot at the right time and packing up everything was very different for me. But earlier we used to get fully ready at 9 o’clock, but sometimes the heroes are coming at 11 o’clock and sometimes at 11.30 o’clock. But Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh ji always used to come on time. I enjoyed working with everyone in this film as well.
Question- Do you see any difference between the directors of earlier times and the directors of today?
answer- No I don’t think there is anything like that. Good directors are always good. But some directors were very good and there can be no one like them because their making style was very different. Rest of today’s directors are exploring the cinema of the whole world, roaming around the country and abroad. Along with this, people were not even so educated in our era. Whereas in today’s time, directors are aware and exploring many things along with medium, language, technical. But the most important thing is script and story, so you need to be very careful about it.
Question- What message do you want to give to the young mothers of today who want to take care of their family along with work?
answer- I also tried many times, this is my last film but could not happen because I love my profession very much. But I also love my family very much. It was not that I only wanted a career and did not want a family. I wanted both. Whereas in our time there were no cell phones either. So we could not even talk to anyone. For example, today on the phone they tell you to cook and keep these things ready. Now a days there is CCTV camera so you can see what your children are doing. All these were not there at that time but we did our work because we wanted to do that work. Why should we feel guilty on this, the society should feel guilty. That they say such things that when a mother leaves her children and goes to work, she is not a good mother. For this you need full support of your family. Like Saif supports Kareena. If one of the two is busy with work, the other looks after the family. The best thing about today’s parents is that they support each other. That’s why I would just like to say that whatever you want to do, follow your heart.
(Manoj Bajpayee)
Question- When you came to know that Sharmila ji is going to play the role of your mother, how difficult was it for you to call her mam to mam?
answer- Manoj laughs at this and says that Sharmila ji has been working for many years and is very professional. Sooraj is not here now but he had said a very good thing that when actors are professional, they make others comfortable with them. So I think ma’am made all of us comfortable enough with her to call her ma’am. And in a way, the atmosphere on the set is what you see on the screen as well. The way Arun Batra is with his mother, in the same way I was also with Sharmila ji. That’s why we just had to switch on the camera because we were in our characters even off camera. We had created a family of our own on the set, whose full credit goes to Rahul ji.
Question- Which time period do you like more before or after OTT and how much work pressure is there on actors in the time of OTT today?
answer- An actor like me himself takes the pressure of work whether someone gives or not. After this Manoj smiles and says that he has been taking pressure from the beginning. But you are absolutely right that the time of OTT is very challenging. Very few of us are understanding that when there is so much content out there, it is very difficult to make your mark amongst it. Which story to tell, how to tell it, with whom to tell it and if you have prepared the content then how to take it in front of the audience, and how to tell everyone that this is a completely different kind of story. Whatever else you have seen or not seen, but definitely watch this. This work is a big challenge in itself. But the audience is very intelligent, they get to know everything, what kind of content is there and they go and watch it.
(Rahul v Chittela)
Question- How did you do the casting of ‘Gulmohar’?
answer- When we were writing the script of the film, we had already decided the actors. And we love it when scripts are written keeping the actors in mind and the actors say yes to that character. At first I was not sure about Sharmila ji, but I had already decided in my mind that I would go to her and I did so.
(Simran)
Question- You have worked with so many veteran actors in this film, how was your experience about it?
answer- I have been rehearsing it in the South for so many years because everything happens in the South is so realistic that you don’t need to practice. Whereas when I was told my role and came to know that I would get a chance to work with Sharmila ji and Manoj ji, it was a big deal for me, as well as the story of the film was also very good. Overall my experience at Gulmohar was very good. I got to learn a lot from everyone.
Question- Which thing related to this film will you miss the most going forward?
answer- Manoj laughs at this and says that we all will miss him the most. Simran says that after the shooting of the film was over, we did not feel that we were separated from each other. I am going with love from this family or should I say that I am not leaving, I will stay with them only.
