Sujata – Ek Stree Ka Samarpan, the new serial launched by BR Films on Sony Entertainment channel, presents an Indrani Haldar different from the one we have known as a dramatic actress who does strong and bold characters in Bengali films.

Telesoap Sujata, in which Indrani Haldar plays the title role of a 40-year-old homemaker, has given her a complete makeover in terms of costume, image, characterisation and ideology. She is thrilled with this image changeover as it is a challenge in her long career filled with a dossier of films that would be the envy of many famous stars.

Excerpts from an interview:

You began with television and now you are back to television at the national level. Comment.

I have always been a part of television serials in Bengal. None of my film assignments have come in the way of my work on television and vice versa. So, where’s the question of ‘coming back’?

I was overjoyed when Ravi Chopra called me up to ask me if I would be interested in doing the title role in their new serial Sujata. I had done the many-faceted role of the Mother Goddess in Maa Shakti several years ago under the same BR Films banner. I just knew it would be a meaningful role and I accepted it. I also accepted it because it was going to be aired on Sony that has played its own role in projecting strong women in many serials over the years.

Who is Sujata and why is she defined as a woman who is a willing sacrificial goat— Ek Stree Ka Samarpan?

Sujata is married to a successful entrepreneur and lives with her two children and in-laws. Though her’s was a love marriage, she realises that her family now takes her entirely for granted. The ‘sacrificial’ element of her character is that she never, ever complains. But then, she may not remain the way she is now. The serial revolves around Sujata’s long journey through life and that is what keeps my antenna up.

How is the role challenging when it is the same sati-savitri story maybe with the bahu wearing a new face?

My entire career in cinema and on TV is filled with strong, bold and radical women characters. An example of this is Rituparno Ghosh’s Dahan that fetched me the National Award jointly with my co-actor Rituparna Sengupta. Even if the role was a small one, it was in some way, strong and assertive. Sujata on the other hand, is a completely different cup of tea. I have never ever played such a docile woman who is prepared to bend backwards for her family and does not raise an eyebrow when it ignores her completely. She will not remain this way forever, of course, but these finer nuances, the shades the character has is a challenge for me. I am at a point in my career where I can afford to experiment with the roles I choose to play.

Let’s hear about your tryst with Hindi films and serials.

I have done three Hindi films. The first of these was Hamari Shaadi, directed by Basu Chatterjee, on the significance of a ritualistic Hindu marriage where the active participation of the two families is important. The second was Faqir directed by Gautam Ghose. I play Nimmi, a young married girl. Her husband is indifferent to the physical side of their relationship. So Nimmi goes ahead and leads a promiscuous life, yet loves her husband deeply and suffers from pangs of guilt. But she cannot make herself stop. She dies a violent death in the end. The third film was Bhairav opposite Mithun Chakrabarty. In this film, I played a rich snob who clashes with the hero, a poor-honest-to-goodness-boy-struggling-to-come-up-in-life Mithun. I also played goddess in a Hindi serial on StarPlus called Maa Shakti.

Which films would you pick as your career favourites?

Dahan, Saanjhbaatir Roopkathara, Anu, Jara Brishtitey Bhijechhilo and Aloye Phera, a telefilm. In Aloye Phera, I play a blind girl. I worked very hard to keep my eyes totally unfocussed and rolling like blind people in real life do. I loved it.

They say you have certain rules for accepting films. What are these rules?

Today, my criteria for accepting a role are: I should be needed to contribute 100 per cent to the total script. The totality should offer me direct link to my audience. The film should have some message for the audience, give it something to think about; and last but not the least, the character I am to portray should not be a hollow, empty character introduced for decorative value.

Any regrets?

Yes. One. My father didn’t live to see me win the National award. Yet, he was the one who encouraged me to take on the role of ‘Jhinuk’ in Dahan.