Meera Chopra, who marked her Bollywood debut in 2016 with Vikram Bhatt's 1920: London, co-starring Sharman Joshi rose to fame with Section 375 alongside Richa Chadha and Akshaye Khanna. Post her solid stint down South, she paved her own way in the Hindi film industry. The actress is now gearing up for an important film titled Safed. The film is helmed by director Sandeep Singh and is headed for a straight to OTT release on December 29, 2023.
In an exclusive chat with The Free Press Journal, Meera spills the beans on the subject of the film, her not-so-rosy career, existence of male dominance across and much more.
How do you get the method of choosing content driven scripts right so far?
It has come from my experience down South. I was only doing such big commercial male dominated films there and with every film, I felt that I deserve better somewhere internally. I wasn't just happy. Once you get stuck with the big projects, it becomes very difficult to come out of it or break off from the pattern. But, now I feel, the South has started making better cinema in terms of offering roles to females but back then, they were very few.
Go on...
It was my conscious effort to move out of South industry because I wanted to do films which would make them happy. My journey was filled with unhappy films and a lot of money. I started respecting myself. I believe, then only you can sustain longer in this industry. One should have that inner fighting spirit. I do different films in Hindi too.
A still from Safed |
Was it difficult for you to deal with male dominance around you over these years?
I have been very vocal about my career trajectory. It was extremely difficult for me especially since I came with a lot of hope and confidence. When you come from a very successful industry, you tend to aim for the same in the other industry too but it didn't shape up like I planned. After a couple of years, it became very tiring for me. My career has been tough and hence a very few films. I gave up on signing films which weren't giving me internal happiness. It was some spiritual driving force behind me.
Tell us something about this unusual film Safed
This movie couldn't have been possible without shooting it in Banaras. The kind of widows we have shown in the film, I wasn't aware that they even exist to begin with. I learned a new thing about my country while working on this script. It gives you a different thought to your life. Banaras and Vrindavan have a lot of widow ashrams. It's a very painful sight. It made me feel what has gone wrong in our country over these years. It was challenging for me to get into the skin of Kaali. I couldn't process how a 24-year-old widow has given up on the human spirit.
Heard that you will be romancing a eunuch in this film?
Honestly, that was exactly the reason for me to say yes to a film like Safed. I don't think this thought has even come across in anyone's mind so far. In our lives, transgenders hold no importance. It has been the bitter truth. They don't have social standing at all. We can't treat them abnormally just because they are born in a certain way. It was only in 2019, the transgenders act was introduced in India.
