Thirty-three years after actor Raveena Tandon made her film debut in the romantic actioner Patthar Ke Phool opposite Salman Khan in 1991, her 18-year-old daughter Rasha Thadani is gearing up for her Bollywood debut opposite Ajay Devgn’s nephew Aahan this year. The mother and daughter have been spotted visiting temples and film events together.
Ask Raveena if she has any words of wisdom for her daughter, or any newcomer for that matter, she says — “Make your mistakes and learn from them. It will be the hardest lesson you will learn, but it will go a long way to mould and frame you. It is important to stumble and fall. If I keep holding you before you fall, you’re never going to learn.”
Though from a film family (daughter of director Ravi Tandon), Raveena journeyed solo, from lone sets to self-assertion. There was no family launch or influential film cadre backing her. “I was not a part of any film camps, I had no godfather guiding me. I have ended up irking people because I spoke my mind and was not a people pleaser. I bore the brunt of it for a while, but I am happy where I am,” she says matter-of-factly.
In the 90s, Raveena was dubbed ‘Ravishing’ by fans and critics. Apart from doing out-and-out masala entertainers such as Dulhe Raja, Mohra, Bade Miya Chotte Miya, her sensitive portrayal of Durga, a victim of marital rape and violence in Kalpana Lajmi’s Daman, won her the National Award in 2001, followed by Madhur Bhandarkar’s critically acclaimed Satta, in 2003, where she played a housewife-turned-politician – it was a film she was advised to avoid, as many felt it would be professional Hara Kiri. “I went with my gut and did it. I am a reluctant actor. There was never any strategy. My parents never interfered with what I signed; my manager and I were of the view that if it was a big film, big director and big hero, you signed. Where did we have the kind of preparation they do today?” she comments.
The actor shares that she made a conscious effort to diversify and not get too comfortable when it came to content. The titles of her songs were often used as identifiers for her, like mast mast girl and shehar ki ladki, and she confesses it was hard to break perceptions initially. “I was always playing the rich bratty girl, my dialogues were the same, and all that changed was my costume. But when I was in Mauritius shooting a comedy film, I finally said to myself, though I enjoy this, I cannot be doing just this.”
She recounts how E Nivas’s 1999 Shool came at a time when she was introspecting, but the biggest hurdle was producer Ram Gopal Verma. “Ramu told me, Raveena, I would cast you but I cannot imagine you doing this, because when I close my eyes, all I can see is you doing Ankhiyon Se Goli Maare. It took me a long time to convince people, but I swore never to fall into the repetitive mood again. So what worked for me was being experimental,” she says.
After playing a cop in Aranyak, and a politician in KGF 2, she now plays a Bollywood diva turned-influential member of Alibaug’s high society in Ruchi Narain’s revenge thriller Karma Calling. Embracing shades of grey as a hardened woman, the actor says she could not relate to the character nor her personality, except for one aspect — “Like her, I can also kill for my family!” Raveena adds, “But I enjoy the thriller space, and it was nice exploring the many layers of this very complex woman.”
So does she believe in karma?
“My karma is good, but I need to watch the karma of some others, and see when will justice happen,” she says, bursting into peals of laughter.
After playing a cop in Aranyak, and a politician in KGF 2, she now plays a Bollywood diva turned-influential member of Alibaug’s high society in Ruchi Narain’s revenge thriller Karma Calling.
